A Man's Worth
by Lord Youko
Summary: Kouga goes a bit too far with taunting Inuyasha, raking up old demons and raw wounds. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru have a...brotherly talk. Sesshoumaru does not appreciate anybody ELSE picking on his little brother. Sess/Inu yaoi angst.
1. Poison

_**Story: A Man's Worth**_

_**Summary:** Kouga goes a bit too far with taunting Inuyasha, raking up old demons and raw wounds. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru have a brotherly talk. Sesshoumaru does not appreciate anybody **else** picking on his little brother…Sess/Inu yaoi _

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha and make no money from the writing of this fic._

_**Warnings:** This fic will contain yaoi, angst, incest. If you are not comfortable with this, then please leave._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 – Poison<strong>

_**The walls start breathing**_

_**My mind's unweaving**_

_**Maybe it's best you leave me alone.**_

_**-It Ends Tonight lyrics**_

Inuyasha scowled, scrubbing hard to clean the blood off his hands.

The demon had been big and surprisingly difficult to kill. Maybe he was out of practice. It had been a while, after all since the battle with Naraku and…what came after. But the worst part was always the blood. The smell of blood took forever to get off his hands.

Then he heard Kouga's taunting voice.

"So, dog face," Kouga drawled, "I heard a demon gave you quite an ass-whippin today."

Well, he hadn't technically been defeated, even though at one point, it had seemed pretty hopeless for him. Mind-fucking demons were always the worst. Inuyasha preferred the I'm-going-to-gut-you-like-a-fish-and-then-eat-you types. At least what you saw was what you got.

Inuyasha turned around, and snarled. "I beat him, ya stinkin' wolf! Or didn't you hear _that_?

Kouga had become a lot bolder now that Kagome was gone. The gentle priestess had been a mellowing influence on everyone but now that she was gone, things – and more to the point Kouga – returned to how they used to be.

Kouga waved his had dismissively. "Yeah but that's not the point. He almost had you beat, didn't he? You almost died. Heard you cried."

Inuyasha cringed. He was still a little shaky from the experience. Demons that fucked around with a person's mind and emotions and shit were really very bothersome and this one had been the most powerful so far. He hadn't known such demons even existed. At least he'd never come across one so sophisticated and so hadn't known of any ways to defend himself. The demon managed to get to poison him pretty badly before he found a way to fight back.

But Kouga had seen him flinch at the accusation and it was all the proof he needed.

"Hah!" he laughed, throwing his head back. The last rays of the dying sun caught his fangs. "Seriously, mutt? That's awesome! The great Inuyasha cried like a little girl!"

Inuyasha stiffened.

"So, what'd you dream about?"

_What is your greatest fear?_

There was no way in hell he'd tell Kouga that. It had come as a soul shaking surprise to him too, to learn that. He had never really thought about shit like that and even if he had, this was definitely not what he would have expected.

He knew he wasn't the strongest, but he had never suspected he was a coward.

"Are you afraid of dyin, Inuyasha?" taunted the wolf, and Inuyasha resolved to kill Myoga for it. Damn flee blabbed _everything!_

"Maybe _wittle Inuyasha _wants his_ mooooommy_" Kouga said in a singsong voice.

Inuyasha's fists were clenched. "Shut up…" He knew he shouldn't let it bother him. It was what mind control demons did, after all; exploited any weakness in others. His emotions had always been close to the surface, pretty much on display for everyone to look into his minds. It wasn't surprising that the demon had used it against him, had taunted him with it.

It wasn't even surprising that Kouga was doing pretty much the same thing now. If it had been a youkai instead of a hanyou, the other demon would probably not have found it as easy to manipulate their emotions. Youkai were not as hindered by emotions and feelings as hanyou so even if a youkai's true fear were thrown in their face, they would not be as paralyzed by the revelation as he had been.

That is why, the strongest demons, the ones at the upper most levels of the hierarchy were ones who betrayed no emotion, no weakness.

Unbidden, the image of Sesshoumaru rose in his mind. His perfect elder brother; stoic and icy. He would never be like Sesshoumaru.

Then he shook himself. Why was he thinking about that stupid bastard anyway? Sesshoumaru could rot in hell! There was no freakin' way Inuyasha would ever want to be anything like him.

…but somewhere, the words rang hollow.

Kouga laughed. "Oh come on mutt! I knew you were weak but even I never took you for such a pansy!"

"It's not that," Inuyasha muttered, head lowered, bangs covering his eyes. His voice was rough, a bit rougher than usual but nothing that remarkable. The only clues to his inner turmoil were his shaking hands.

"It wasn't in battle. He had, some kind of dream inducing poison, I dunno," as if from a distance, he heard his own voice babbling, explaining desperately to Kouga when in his mind, he knew he didn't need to explain anything, that his pathetic attempts at justification would only make the wolf youkai despise him more. But he couldn't seem to be able to stop himself. The words continued to spill.

"But I was just lyin there, about to die and no one was around and…"

Kouga didn't bother trying to control his laughter. "Hah! Oh crap, I expected something a little better than that, like Kagome dying or something but that's just dumb!"

Kouga shrugged. "Well what else can I expect from a halfbreed?"

Inuyasha didn't look up but his eyes widened.

It was not usual for him to be so sensitive to anyone's taunts but that day's harrowing experience had a bit too much. It is one thing to almost die. Hell, he had _almost died_ more times than he could count! But this time, there had been that fear, the loneliness and worst of all, _helplessness_…

Kouga still sounded amused. "A full demon would never have been affected like that by some weak-ass dream. Hell, I've watched my comrades die before my eyes. You ever seen me weeping like a girl?" he snorted. "It's coz you inherited stupid human emotions and their spinelessness."

"No, dammit! It's not like that!" Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "If I could have fought him, I –"

He didn't know how to explain to Kouga. He had been kind of paralyzed by whatever it had injected in him, unable to attack or run away; just lying there waiting, waiting and listening to the demon ruthlessly bare his inner self, his hidden weaknesses and hypocrisy…that was the scariest part; that had _always_ been the scariest part, all his life. Dying in battle, with adrenaline pumping was one thing but waiting for it like that, all alone…

Kouga snorted. "Whatever, dog breath. Point remains. You're a weak ass scardy-cat." He shook his head. "Damn, and here I thought I could even respect you a little."

He turned away, his tail swishing lazily in the late evening light.

Inuyasha panicked.

He didn't know if Kouga was fucking with him or if he was really that disappointed.

In some corner of his mind, he tried to work out why it mattered.

But regardless of why, Inuyasha still ran swiftly in front of him and shook him roughly by the shoulders. "Wait! I –"

Kouga shrugged him off and the look that he gave him wasn't mocking or amused. It was a flat look, almost understanding. That was a thousand times worse.

"There's nothin' to be said, mutt," Kouga told him patiently. "It's just who you are. You can't help it. Full-blooded demons are born with strength in their blood."

He looked at Inuyasha pityingly for a moment and Inuyasha felt something clench in his chest.

Then Kouga grinned. "But that doesn't mean the villagers should stay in the dark about their beloved hanyou!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened.

"Don't you dare say a word to anybody, you filthy wolf!"

Kouga laughed. "What're you gonna do to stop me?" he challenged. "Truth is truth, mutt. Face it. You are who you are. Stop pretending you're strong and badass when you're clearly not."

Inuyasha suddenly dropped his hands from Kouga's shoulder.

In a whirl of silver-white hair, Inuyasha turned and ran, leaving a very amused Kouga watching him go.

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><p>Night had fallen.<p>

In fact, it was close to midnight and still Inuyasha could not sleep. He leaned more comfortably against the tree he was on and stared silently at the almost full moon…the beautiful, silent full moon that seemed to mock him.

He had felt something break inside him that day.

There was a dull ache in his chest that was different from any physical pain. There was a creeping hopelessness, of darkness descending, of fate closing in. This was not the first time it had happened…he had felt it long ago, when his mother had died, when Kikyou had betrayed him, when Kagome had left and in all those moments between moments that can break a man apart. But this time, it seemed…not worse but…_deeper…_like it was now more a part of him, and for some reason that scared him.

He had come away from the village to be by himself for some time, to try and figure out what his was all about. He needed to set himself straight and fast because he did not have _time _to mope around!

He laid a hand on the trunk of the tree he was currently sitting on and sighed.

Here, at night with the moon traveling slowly through the sky, he felt…at peace, at home. But the rest of the time, he felt like…like everything was moving too fast, too quickly, leaving him behind, _pulling_ him behind and he resisted because he didn't want to go. Not so quickly, not like that. He couldn't remember the first time he had felt it – this urge to simultaneously run away from everything and to stay put and let everything flow around him except it didn't. It didn't flow past, but caught him in the currant and dragged him along when he didn't know how to swim and he was drowning…

And there was just something about weakness – _physical_ weakness- that made him angrier than most other things. He called it _angry_ because he was too proud to call it anything else…

A fist was driven into the tree with enough force to shake it to the roots.

Dammit! Why did everything have to be so…so out of control! He felt…lost. There was so much to do, so far to go and he felt…inadequate, not ready for this because there didn't seem to be any end in sight, no place where this…this obligation ended where he could do what he wanted.

Inuyasha glanced down in the direction of village that he had somehow become chained to, just as surely as though he were pinned there with a sacred arrow through his heart.

Because what he wanted was the past and that was never coming back and he was afraid of moving ahead because he was not strong enough, not yet.

…_and that is how it has always been._

He had never _felt_ adequate and then it didn't matter that he _had _been, every time. He had never felt strong, except when he was risking his life, dealing with pain and many, many years ago, there had been that nightmare when he had been all alone and defenseless, running from base youkai, running for his life, hiding and running, and he had never thought he could come out of it but when he had, he had vowed that it would never happen again, he would never be that scared again but here he was again, at that dangerous precipice, about to slip in again, into the waiting _yawning _darkness…

"Half-breed."

The cold disdainful voice jarred him back to reality. He felt a stab of fear and dread and he looked down.

Sesshoumaru.

Great! Fate had decided to not only screw his case completely but to crap on him as well. He had had one of the worst days _ever_ and who had to catch him moping but his cold, perfect elder brother…

"What, jackass?" he muttered, heart not really into the insult.

"Come here."

Inuyasha felt a flash of anger.

_Who does the bastard think he is, orderin' me around like some dog?_

Did he really expect him to obey?

"Hell no I ain't coming down, so fuck off."

Sesshoumaru's face remained expressionless. "Very well." Inuyasha looked at him in surprise. He was _giving up_?

Then the taiyoukai's poison whip snapped out, wound around his wrist and _pulled._

Inuyasha fell unceremoniously to the forest floor, bum hurting now, on top of everything else.

"What the fuck do you want?" he snarled, brushing himself off angrily, and flopping back against the tree trunk.

Inuyasha didn't get up and the taiyoukai said nothing, just stared at him for a long moment. Inuyasha unwillingly noticed how the moonlight almost made the elder demon glow.

"Keh. Do what you want. I don't wanna fight you." Inuyasha's cheeks turned slightly pink and he turned away from his brother.

Sesshoumaru looked at the hanyou sitting morosely on the ground. "You do not wish to fight?"

Inuyasha didn't look at him. "I'm tired…of fighting all the time…"

And Sesshoumaru heard the other meaning behind the words.

Sesshoumaru gazed impassively at Inuyasha, his little brother who had given up and wondered why he felt no satisfaction.

"What has happened to you, hanyou?"

"It doesn't matter," he muttered, not looking up, even though the words made his stomach coil in an odd way.

Bakusaiga's cold edge pressed up against his neck "And if I run this blade through your heart?"

Inuyasha smiled slightly at the ground. "Then you will soil your blade, nothing more."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly, unnoticed by his sibling.

"You want to…die?"

Inuyasha's temper flared a little. "What do you care, bastard? Haven't you tried to kill me every chance you got? Don't pretend to be concerned for me now. I'm giving you the chance. I won't defend myself. So just end it quickly."

Sesshoumaru continued looking at him but said nothing. Then-

"Why?"

Inuyasha sighed. What did it matter if his brother knew, anyway?

"Because…you were right."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow.

"I'm worthless."

The words fell from his lips, heavy and resonating.

"I realize that…I have caused people pain and nothing else, even the people I care about." He stared off into the distance.

"Kagome is gone because she was never meant to be with me. I could never have made her happy. Kikyou died because she cared about me. My mother died and I couldn't protect her."

He chuckled softly, bitterly. "And who am I kidding? I'm not strong. You might be a bastard but if you had really wanted to kill me all these years, you could have done it blindfolded! I couldn't even kill Naraku. If you hadn't been there that night, I would have died at the dark hanyou's hands. I am not worthy of father's blood. You were right. I am a stain on your line and its only fitting that I die by your hands."

It felt strangely good, _peaceful_ to say these things, to confirm the words he had tried to deny all his life. Something good had come of the mind fucking experience, after all. He'd stopped deluding himself.

The words freed him, made him lighter, even as they ran like poison through his mind, leeching his will to live.

"All my life, I wanted to gain the respect of humans and youkai; I tried to get them to like me. But now I realize…I don't deserve it."

His breath hitched as he said the forbidden words, did what no demon in their right mind would do because to be vulnerable would mean death. This time also, it would probably mean just that, but this time, he didn't care.

"I don't deserve their respect. They shouldn't come near me. If I could go far away from all of them, I would but I can't! They always find me." He looked helplessly at his hands. The smell of blood was still there. Subtle and light, but there.

"And I can't…I can't fight anymore…" Tears gathered in his eyes and he felt ashamed but what was left of his pride now?

"I don't want to…to do what I have to do…to do what I should…what people want me to…and I am not strong enough to do what I want to so. I want to do everything that a youkai can do…I want to be strong and invincible."

"Youkai are not invincible," the demon Lord interrupted quietly. "You have slayed enough to know that."

Inuyasha assented. "No, that's just you, isn't it?"

Sesshoumaru remained silent.

Inuyasha was looking at him simply, dispassionately. "The perfect son of Inu no Taisho; the _real _son of Inu no Taisho." He looked away. "And I? I have no one and nothing…except my illusions, except lies which I tell myself everyday."

Sesshoumaru laughed and Inuyasha's head snapped up in surprise. Then, to his further astonishment, the regal demon Lord walked over and sat down beside him.

Even sitting on the dirty forest floor, Inuyasha noted bitterly, Sesshoumaru managed to look graceful and royal.

"But don't you know, hanyou?" Just now, that word didn't feel like an insult. "That is the only thing that anyone has. Illusions and lies."

Inuyasha gave him a disbelieving look.

Moonlight reflected dully of pristine white silk as the demon Lord shifted minutely, gaze trained in the distance like Inuyasha's but seemingly amused by something that wasn't really amusing at all. "It is a curious thing, Inuyasha that it is our illusions that help us keep our hold on reality."

Inuyasha shook his head, to clear his head and also so he'd stop staring at his brother. "Well I can't live like that anymore. You know why? Because it hurts like a _bitch _when those illusions break. I can't take it…one more time… I don't see why I should live like this."

He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "I – I mean wouldn't the world be a better place without me?"

Sesshoumaru smirked then, looking beautiful and untouchable in the moonlight, making the half demon ache.

"The world would be a better place without many people." He turned and looked at Inuyasha with piercing ice gold eyes. "Does that mean they stop living?"

Inuyasha made a frustrated noise, not wanting to be under the direct path of that intense gaze but also unable to look away. "But all I cause people is pain! I am always a…a burden…and I try so hard to get things right but I'm weak and I _always _mess up!"

He clenched his fist, digging his claws into his palm.

"I've tried…I've tried to grow stronger, only to end up worse off than before…I always swore it would be better next time and everything…everything is just the same…every time, it's just the same…"

He stopped in shock as long, gentle fingers came to rest on his chin and turned his head to face his brother.

"It is not the same," Sesshoumaru murmured and Inuyasha wondered how he'd never noticed how melodious and deep his brother's voice was.

"Why not?" He demanded breathlessly, unable- _unwilling_ – to jerk his face out of his brother's hand. "What difference did it make? Any of it..."

"Because," Sesshoumaru whispered still inches from the hanyou's face so Inuyasha could feel the elder brother's warm breath on his lips. "You're an idiot."

Inuyasha's mouth almost fell open.

"You are going about it the wrong way," Sesshoumaru told him and to inuyasha's annoyance, he sounded amused

"Whaddya mean?"

Sesshoumaru leaned forward slowly and closed his lips over his brother's.

Inuyasha froze to the spot, brain unable to process that _Sesshoumaru, _who had tried to kill him for the past few centuries, was _kissing_ him.

_He tastes like…something sweet and dangerous. He tastes like poison, _Inuyasha thought.

_~o0o~_

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><p><strong>AN: **To be continued...This story will most likely be concluded in the next couple of chapters.


	2. If Only

**A/N: A big thank you to all my awesome reviewers! I apologize for the looooooooong wait but it really can't be helped right now. Reviews make my day, though :D**

**I can't believe I didn't see the rest of the reviews for this story -.- That's what happens when you update when you haven't had enough sleep. Anyway, here's review responses to the rest of you awesome reviewers:**

**A lilmatchgirl,** my first reviewer for this story :D – I like that you told me your favourite line from the chapter. Thanks!

**Pixter14 - ** :D Thanks! I'll update my other stories as soon as I can. I hope you're still with me!

**Mochiusagi – **Thank you!

**Samirah the Entertainer –** Yes, Kouga's good at playing the ass. He's got a lot of practice in the anime -_- If you hadn't guessed, I'm not really that fond of Kouga from the anime. Ass. But thanks! :D I'm glad you liked it. And yes Sesshoumaru always does seem to know just what to say even in the anime…though in the anime, he doesn't try very hard to make anybody feel better. ~.^

** .angel - **:D Thanks!

**MJ – **Thank you!

**Aikawa Akihiko – **I know, I changed that as soon as I read your review. It's a chaptered story, not a one shot, though it'll only be a few chapters.

**Nikkie23534 – **XD instant classic ^.^ Yes, there should be fanfic fixes like there are coffees. And no it isn't a oneshot. I put that up by mistake because when I first started to write this, I'd intended to make it a oneshot but I changed my mind. Thank you!

**Kinsfang –**Thanks!

**Your God – **Thank you! That's a hell of a penname, by the way :D 10 points for creativity.

**Bunny-kun6346** **- Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it. **

**Kate101 – **Thank you!

**Dragonzombie333 – **This isn't a dark story but yes, Kouga will be punished ^.^ I'm very glad to know I was able to make you feel Inu's pain.

**NaidaIldri – **XDXDXD That was hilarious :D You made me laugh out loud when I read that review in class and my professor looked at me funny o.O Thank you!

**Kawaiitaylor – **Thank you! And no, your message was not at all stalkerish. ^.^ In fact, it was after reading that that I finally sat down and completed this chapter.

**yaoimistress16 – **Agreed!

**Kasia-chan – **Thank you! Sorry for making you wait so long.

**Ardentes – **Mwaaahahaaaahahaaa thank you ^.^ No, seriously I never meant to make you wait so long but it couldn't be helped. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you are still with me.

**CrystalFireExplosion **– Thank you! ^.^

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(reviewer without a name) - Thanks!

**Little Karma**- Thank you that is quite a compliment. Yes, I agree there are very few stories that really seem plausible. I'm glad you think this one is one of them.

**Yume no Neko** - :D Thanks! And sorry for the long wait!

**Person** – Sure :D

**Wiccan Queen** – Thank you!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 – If Only<strong>

_I wanted, I wanted you to stay_

_'Cause I needed, I need to hear you say_

_That I love you, I have loved you all along_

_And I forgive you_

_For being away for far too long_

_So keep breathing 'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore_

_Believe it, hold on to me and, never let me go..._

_**-Far Away Nickelback lyrics**_

Sesshoumaru was good at kissing, Inuyasha reflected hazily while he was being kissed by said demon.

The taiyoukai grabbed Inuyasha's bottom and hoisted him closer, making the hanyou turn bright red.

Sesshoumaru was _really _good at kissing.

Trembling hands landed on the demon Lord's haori and slid it clumsily off his shoulders.

The demon shrugged out of it willingly enough but when Inuyasha tried to do the same with his own clothes, clawed hands stopped him.

"It is cold," Sesshoumaru whispered and Inuyasha blushed even darker but from a different emotion this time.

Skilled fingers merely parted the folds of his hakama and Inuyasha found himself lying on his stomach with his ass bared to the cold night and a predatory daiyoukai.

"This will hurt because it your first time," Sesshoumaru instructed.

"What makes you think it's my first time?" Inuyasha smirked, glancing over his shoulder at his elder brother.

He could see razor sharp fangs glinting in the moonlight as his brother gave him one of his rare, frightening smiles. Clawed hands tightened on his hips and Inuyasha shivered.

"I have made it my business to know," the demon Lord told him, leaning over him, covering the half-demon body with his own.

"Perv," Inuyasha snorted. "Have you been spying on me? How do you know who I have and haven't slept with?"

Inuyasha marveled at how, even in the almost complete darkness of the midnight hours, he could still see one arrogant eyebrow going up.

"Awkwardly hugging that priestess of yours in order to push her into a well does not count as having sex."

Inuyasha almost shot to his feet at this piece of disturbing information but strong hands kept him pinned to the ground.

Only years of training in keeping his face emotionless kept Sesshoumaru from laughing out loud as those adorable golden eyes glared up at him for all they were worth. The hanyou actually thought he'd had the freedom to do whatever he wanted all these years. How amusing.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to tell his elder brother _exactly_ where he could go for spying on him and Kagome but a large hand wrapped around his dick and he choked on the words.

Puppyish golden eyes remained riveted down to where Sesshoumaru had very casually wrapped his fist around the younger man's most vulnerable organ.

"Y-you…you have your- on my-" Inuyasha managed to sputter, staring disbelievingly from his brother's face to his hand.

"Shut up," Sesshoumaru told him, sounding far too amused for Inuyasha's liking.

The hand squeezed knowingly, varying the pressure on the sensitive organ in a way that made Inuyasha throw his head back and gasp. Splayed legs twitched awkwardly around the demon Lord and Inuyasha dimly marveled at the fact that even his own hand was not skilled enough to bring him mind numbing pleasure with just one touch.

Sesshoumaru's eyes, on the other hand were fixed intently on the hanyou's face, watching that all too expressive face contort into expressions of almost painful pleasure. The organ in his hand was already almost fully erect and throbbing dully in his palm. The poor boy seemed as innocent to this act as a boy just into puberty. A demon Inuyasha's age would by now have experience almost all there was to experience about sex between two people; his body would have forced him to seek out these carnal pleasures after having experienced them once.

The demon Lord pumped him faster, tighter and Inuyasha fell back further on his elbows and moaned gracelessly.

Inuyasha didn't know that any demon or demoness that had so much as considered copulating with the delicious half-breed had met a swift end at his sword. The hanyou was his to corrupt; no lustful bitch with a fuck on their mind was going to lay a hand on his hanyou.

True, it meant denying the hanyou's body what it needed almost as desperately as food and clothing but what the youthful body didn't know, it couldn't crave and Inuyasha was left with vague, unknowable urges as his body matured, unable to determine what it was he needed and too bashful to ask anybody about it.

So now this almost painful pleasure, that had Inuyasha panting like a bitch in heat from a simple handjob, was all his to savor, his to bestow and his to take away. Inuyasha would know no one else's touch except his big brother's and when the half-demon body, wild with lust, craved release again, Sesshoumaru was the one he would come begging to.

Teary eyes snapped open as a clawed finger prodded firmly at his ass, the apprehensive cheeks clenching defensively at the intrusion. Inuyasha's body tensed, and for a moment, the pleasure on his dick was forgotten as he stared almost disbelievingly at his elder brother.

"Don't…please…" he breathed, meeting his brother's eyes, trying to make him understand that he wasn't ready for this, wasn't ready to trust the elder brother who'd put that very same hand through his stomach more than once.

"Otouto," Sesshoumaru reprimanded gently, fangs nipping lightly at quivering puppy ears and Inuyasha's body relaxed against his will, showing his submission to the stronger male, instinctively recognizing that it had displeased the taiyoukai and the transgression would not be allowed.

Clenched asscheeks relaxed and Inuyasha turned a little on his side, allowing the dominant male easier access, though his heart thudded a mile a minute.

"Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru," the hanyou repeated like a mantra, seeking comfort from the name that had so far heralded nothing but death and destruction and a strange kind of thrill.

The finger made its way into this uncertainly twitching hole and at the same time, a sword-calloused thumb brushed reassuringly over the tip of Inuyasha's erection, eliciting a drop of precum from the once again hardened member. Inuyasha's body spasmed with pleasure as the teasing rubbing motion sent small electric sparks up his body.

Puppy ears quivered happily, recognizing the small rubbing motion in the dick as a kind of _good boy _pat from his alpha. Inuyasha's dick twitched in Sesshoumaru's hand, hard to the point of bursting.

"Sess-Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha groaned, claws scratching and clawing at the ground underneath him, some primitive instinct not allowing him to touch the alpha without permission.

"If you ever allow anybody else to touch you like this," Sesshoumaru hissed, icy golden eyes boring into tearful, frightened ones. "I will cut this off and feed it to you."

Clawed fingers tightened warningly around his member, the grip bordering on painful and it struck Inuyasha like a blow that the hand that wielded the sword of life and death, the hand that could emit a poison strong enough to melt steel, the hand that had tasted the blood and death of thousands of beings, was currently wrapped around his dick.

Sesshoumaru would castrate him without a second thought if he so much as looked at another living being lustfully.

The thought sent powerful shudders of desire through his already high stung body and Inuyasha's breathing became harsh and shallow. Power…what was it about power that made him so hot and needy? Maybe it was some demonic instinct that made powerful males attractive to him, maybe it was just his nature but even though Sesshoumaru had hurt him and tried to kill him on more than one occasion, the very knowledge that this demon Lord was one of the very few demons strong enough to physically overpower him, that Sesshoumaru could and would fulfill all his darkest, most shameful hidden desires and not think any different of him, made him writhe like a cock-hungry whore.

Golden eyes turned opaque and dark as the demon blood in him surrendered to the commands of this strongest of demons that had just laid claim to it.

Inuyasha's head lolled to the side in reply, offering his neck to the alpha but the fangs that the hanyou body expected did not come. Instead, the single finger inside his ass thrust sharply, curling and pressing against Inuyasha's prostate.

The action made Inuyasha's whole body go taut with electric pleasure. He would have cum instantly, if it weren't for the hand around his dick that now tightened to hold back his release.

The pleasure was overwhelming, unbearable and Inuyasha screamed his brother's name.

"From this day forth, you will never cum without my permission. This wanton little body may only obtain release when I grant it. Is that understood?" Sesshoumaru murmured darkly in quivering puppy ears.

Inuyasha was no longer in possession of enough wits to intellectually understand the command but his body and his demon half understood and his dick hardened impossibly.

Satisfied, Sesshoumaru released his grip slowly, then roughly pumped the swollen, weeping organ one final time as he pressed against the sweet spot in Inuyasha's ass.

"Cum for me, Inuyasha," the demon Lord hissed and Inuyasha screamed once again into the night, thrusting up helplessly into the demon Lord's gasp.

The demon Lord pulled the now limp, softly breathing body of his brother in his arms and leaned back against the tree. He had intended to take the delectable boy tonight. He hadn't anticipated how sensitive he would be to every touch.

But he had him now; it didn't matter if he had to wait a little longer to claim that tight little ass. Inuyasha had always been his, since the day his father gave him the infant to protect before he went out to die and now, the hanyou had accepted his place.

Golden eyes roved over the surrounding darkness unhurriedly.

This boy, who was now so trustingly sleeping in his lap…he could see the scars, the wounds thoughtlessly inflicted by his so called friends. He'd allowed Inuyasha too much freedom for too long but that was all over now.

The surrounding forest went very silent as Sesshoumaru's ki burned. Animals and demons alike withdrew into their hiding places as the angry youki of the Lord of the West permeated the forest called Inuyasha's Forest and enveloped the sleeping hanyou protectively.

Whoever wanted to hurt Inuyasha would have to go through him first.

* * *

><p>"The nights are too short," Inuyasha whispered, feeling cool and light and unreal lying on his brother's arm in the moonlight.<p>

He had dozed for hours before finally coming slowly back to his senses. The dawning realization that he his brother/sworn enemy had given him a handjob and an orgasm to die for didn't feel as catastrophic and earth shattering as it should have. In fact, Sesshoumaru's finger up his ass felt a lot more natural than Kikyou or Kagome's lips on his. Maybe he was fucked in the head for thinking it – hell, he wouldn't be surprised if he was – but he felt lighter, more content than he had in years and he wasn't about to let that go because of some forced guilt trip.

Waking up with Sesshoumaru's arms around him wasn't something he could ever remember having thought about but now that he had it, he couldn't imagine how he'd gone without this feeling for so long. Still, it was a surreal feeling, like a hard crust had just fallen away and now, he couldn't pretend to be indifferent to his brother anymore.

"Too short?" Sesshoumaru asked, voice like the cool, pre-winter breeze. The same voice that had called him 'a dirty half-breed' innumerable times, the same voice that had ordered him to cum just a few hours ago. "Since when are nights too short for a half-demon? Nights are for predators."

Inuyasha laughed then, because ever since he _had_ been a little child running from the predators of the night, till now when he could kick the crap out of any demon that so much as looked at him wrong, Sesshoumaru still remained the only man who could talk to him like that.

"I wish the sun would never rise," Inuyasha said wistfully, closing his eyes against the cool breeze that made the leaves in the trees shiver and sigh.

_I wish I could lie here with you forever. _

But he wasn't brave enough to say that yet.

"You hate the sunlight," Sesshoumaru said musingly and Inuyasha nodded. When the other man didn't say anything more, Inuyasha tilted his head up to look at his brother. The demon Lord had a far away look in his eyes.

"It does not suit you."

"What does that mean?" Inuyasha asked, surprised.

Sesshoumaru inclined his head to look at the half demon on his chest. "You are not the kind of person who would be fond of shadows and darkness."

"Yeah well sunlight sucks," Inuyasha grumbled. "It's hot and too bright and you wouldn't believe how uncomfortable fire-rat haori and hakama are in the summer."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Uncomfortable?"

Under the pretense of turning over to get more comfortable, Inuyasha had hidden his face in the demon lord's chest and now all Sesshoumaru could see was a snowy white head and flickering puppy ears.

"Everything itches," Inuyasha mumbled, voice muffled in Sesshoumaru's silk haori. The younger brother felt a laugh rumble through the demon's chest and against his will, he felt a smile break out on his face.

"Brat," Sesshoumaru murmured almost affectionately, winding an arm tighter around his hanyou.

"Pervert," Inuyasha retorted, inching closer to the warmth of the elder's body.

Clawed fingers circled one puppy ear, making it flick wildly.

"Earlier when you were sulking on that tree like a baboon, what upset you so?"

Inuyasha frowned, turning his head to glare at the older man and ending up leaning into the soothing touch on his ears. "I'm not a monkey."

"Debatable," Sesshoumaru responded serenely. "But that does not answer my question."

Inuyasha turned away. "I-it was nothing."

A short pause.

"I wasn't upset."

"Lying was never among your few talents."

Glare.

"I'm not lying!"

"Your hands reek of foul blood."

Inuyasha's anger deflated. "You can still smell it?"

Sesshoumaru simply looked at him in that piercing way that made Inuyasha feel as though all his secrets were being laid bare. He sighed.

"It was a…a mind-fucking demon," Inuyasha told him at last when he realized the elder demon wasn't going to let this go.

His response was one elegantly raised eyebrow.

Inuyasha sighed and told him everything, from the attack to how he'd managed to finally kill the demon. He neglected to mention Kouga and the fact that he'd cried like a girl because despite everything that had happened and changed between the two of them in the last few hours, Sesshoumaru was still his bullying older brother and Inuyasha was damned if he gave the sadist more ammunition to pick on him.

But Sesshoumaru seemed to know he'd left something out because he was giving him a dissatisfied, you-are-not-fooling-anyone look.

"What?" Inuyasha demanded, beginning to get pissed off.

"What are you keeping from me?" Sesshoumaru murmured, watching him thoughtfully. Inuyasha prayed the moonlight would keep the taiyoukai from seeing the colour that had risen to his cheeks.

"Nothing," Inuyasha snapped. "And besides, who said I have to tell you anything?"

"You are going to tell me," Sesshoumaru informed him, and it ticked Inuyasha off that the bastard did not sound in the least bit concerned that he had just refused.

"No I'm not!"

"I have a right to know what distresses my mate," Sesshoumaru said casually.

Inuyasha stiffened. "M-mate? Did you say mate?"

Sesshoumaru just looked at him quietly.

The hanyou found that his throat was suddenly very dry. "Y-you want to mate with me?"

"In what capacity did you expect to stay with me? As my whore?"

Inuyasha aimed an elbow to his elder brother's family jewels but the taiyoukai was wise enough to lift him up out of harm's way and set him on his stomach so he could look at the younger brother's face.

Inuyasha was too agitated to protest being manhandled like a child. Confused, defiant golden eyes glared down at lazy, low-lidded ones.

"Ever thought about askin' if I even wanted to mate with ya, ya ass?" Inuyasha growled.

Sesshoumaru cocked his head slightly as if he'd never heard of the concept. "Ask?"

Inuyasha signed exasperatedly. "Yeah, _ask_. You know, _asking_ a guy's permission before deciding the course of the rest of his fuckin' life."

"No," Sesshoumaru answered promptly, inwardly gleeful at the way this seemed to skyrocket the boy's blood pressure.

"You can't just mate with me without my permission," Inuyasha bit out, cheeks turning red as his agitation made him rock forward slightly on his elder brother's steely abs, reminding him of the fact that they were both still half naked and that he'd allowed said brother to stick a finger up his ass.

"I can but I won't," Sesshoumaru informed him, reaching up to play idly with a strand of coarse white hair. As daiyoukai, he had the right to claim any uke of his pack as his mate so long as the person's demon submitted to him. He didn't need his uke's explicit, spoken consent. And Inuyasha's demon had submitted to him beautifully.

"Arrogant bastard," Inuyasha grouched. "Who'd wanna mate with you anyway?"

Clawed fingers fisted in Inuyasha's hair suddenly, pulling the younger brother's face down, inches away from steely golden eyes.

"Are you saying you don't want to mate with me, _I-nu-yasha_?"

It was years since anyone had drawled his name out like that; it made him shiver. Sesshoumaru sounded mad and his voice had acquired a husky, rough tone that Inuyasha was not at all fond of. Was it just his imagination or had those markings on his face elongated just a little bit?

"N-no," Inuyasha replied in a small voice, hating how tremulous the syllable sounded.

"No?" the demon Lord asked silkily, pulling the half demon even closer, the other clawed hand resting casually, threateningly on his ass.

Inuyasha shook his head quickly, shutting his eyes against the temptation of once again giving into the elder brother's will. It might earn him a thrashing from the pissed off taiyoukai but it was better than giving the manipulating bastard the satisfaction of having Inuyasha say he was his bitch.

Soft, warm lips melded with his own dry ones and Inuyasha's eyes snapped open in surprise as a hand on the small of his back pushed him gently forward to topple on top of the elder. Impossibly long arms wound around him, enclosing him completely in cool silk and steely strength, making the bones in his body turn to jelly. Inuyasha found himself moaning into the kiss, rubbing wantonly against the demon Lord's hard body.

It was such a long time since the orphaned hanyou had really felt wanted that he had almost forgotten the feeling but he could feel it now, in the possessive embrace and flashing eyes of his older brother. Sesshoumaru wasn't just fucking with him. He really wanted him to be his mate.

"If I do," he said suddenly, "If I agree to be your mate, will you-"

He swallowed, unable to form the question on his lips. But he could feel Sesshoumaru waiting for him patiently and he took a deep breath and raised his head to show defiant, teary eyes to his elder. "How long before you leave me again?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened.

It was like a physical blow, the reminder of what he had done to the little brother who had worshiped him since birth, how he'd spurned the blind love of the little boy who'd followed him around on bare feet.

He'd abandoned Inuyasha after their father's death, blaming the child for his father's sins and now, here was Inuyasha was asking him how long it would be before he abandoned him again.

Inuyasha's chin was gripped strongly and his head raised up to meet the older demon's eyes.

"I won't ask you to forgive me for what I did because I realize it is not something that can be forgiven. I should have kept you with me after father died. I should never have let you go. But I promise you, it will not happen again."

Inuyasha shut his eyes tightly and tried to get up and run, because those damned tears would not be held back for long and even if Sesshoumaru was speaking the truth so far, there was no way he wouldn't throw him out on his ass if he saw him bawling like some girl.

But steel arms kept him trapped where he was and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't get away.

"Let me go," he ordered quietly, finally stilling and covering his eyes with his bangs.

"Never," Sesshoumaru whispered, crushing him to his chest firmly and the tears escaped, flowing unrestrained down his cheeks, trailing down the demon Lord's bare chest.

"Dammit don't fuck with me again," Inuyasha rasped, fighting to keep his voice steady. "There's no way…there's no way you would mate with a worthless half-demon for life so cut the crap and let me go!"

Clawed fingers closed around his throat and wrenched his head away from the warm hard demon's body. Pissed off icy gold eyes glared into teary ones.

"_Never _say that again," Sesshoumaru hissed. "Don't you dare ever call yourself worthless again, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's fingers clenched into fists at his sides and he scowled. "Why the hell not, asshole? You are the one who taught me what I am, big brother."

The mocking words, meant as a scathing retort, instead brought a smile to Sesshoumaru's lips. "I can call you that. No one else. Not even yourself."

"What!" Inuyasha seethed. "Bullshit! How can you-_ummmph!"_

Unyielding fingers crushed his cheeks between them, shocking the hanyou into silence.

"You are _not _worthless," Sesshoumaru asserted, holding Inuyasha almost hypnotized by the force of his gaze. "You are going to be my mate for eternity – for that is the length of a taiyoukai's and by extension, his mate's life - and if there is anyone else who holds claims on your affections, I will eliminate every one of them until you and I are the only ones who remain."

Inuyasha blinked, stunned into silence by his older brother's sudden fury. In all these years, he had never seen Sesshoumaru so intense.

"Y-you really mean it?" Inuyasha finally asked quietly, knowing that despite everything that the bastard had done, he'd never lied to him.

"You are mine," Sesshoumaru reiterated.

Inuyasha smiled then and leaned in to peck a kiss on the demon Lord's lips. "I'm yours."

Unnoticed by either, bakusaiga glowed dully.

* * *

><p>"Kouga?" Sesshoumaru bit out, pronouncing the name as though it were the name of a particularly stinky pile of shit.<p>

Inuyasha nodded, ears burning at being forced to reveal this.

Sesshoumaru had finally gotten the whole truth out of him and Sesshoumaru seemed more displeased by it than he had expected.

"Look it's no big deal," Inuyasha told him impatiently. "He's just...he was horsin' around, nothing more. I just…went off the deep end. It ain't his fault, Sesshoumaru."

The demon Lord narrowed his eyes. "Not his fault that he attempted to mock you after you were victorious over a Ghost demon?"

Sesshoumaru had told him that that was what the demon he had fought had been. The demon hadn't actually been a ghost; it had been very much alive. But it was very, very rare. Only one in a thousand had ever encountered one and since this particular type of demon was picky about its prey, most demons and humans simply lost their minds and came back babbling and incoherent. Not many people even knew of the existence of this type of demon and so, most of the times, people attributed their fellows' madness to having seen a ghost. This had been going on for centuries; tales of ghosts haunting people and driving them mad, of people going insane at the sight of a ghost –and that was how the demon had acquired its name – the Ghost demon – among those who did know of their existence.

Inuyasha had spent his life as nothing more than a commoner and so, it wasn't surprising that he had never heard of the demon before.

The wolf, on the other hand, could not be ignorant of his existence; any decent tribe leader would know the potential threats to its people, rare or common. The wolf would, therefore, also know that instances of anyone winning against said demon were close to nil. Then, knowing the damage it could wreck, knowing the courage and strength required subduing it, the wolf had still mocked Inuyasha.

Kouga – he hadn't paid much attention to the imbecilic wolf cub the last time the idiot had crossed his path. The wolf was definitely more bark than bite. Last time, he'd spared the idiot's life; he should have been wised enough to stay out of his way. If only he hadn't tried to harm what was his, he may even have felt generous enough to let him continue living.

But Kouga had tried to screw with Inuyasha and Kouga would not be allowed to get away with it.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth and came to the stand in the path of the demon Lord who was calmly walking away with measured steps, mind seeming a thousand miles away.

"Are you even listening to me?" Inuyasha demanded. "I'm telling you it wasn't Kouga that really bothered me."

Sesshoumaru turned his attention back to the half demon on front of him just in time to see snowy bangs lower over his eyes.

"If I hadn't been such a wuss to begin with, none of this would have happened. If only I'd been stronger, he-"

Inuyasha stuttered to a stop as the Sesshoumaru's eyes suddenly met his and Inuyasha could feel the demon Lord's anger.

"The wolf should have known better than to attempt to mock you. If such is their leader, no wonder the wolf clan is dying out."

Inuyasha cocked his head to the side, studying the taiyoukai.

"Why is this bothering you so much?" he wondered. "It's not like you've pandered to my self-esteem over the years. Hell, you've insulted me and put me down more than all of my other enemies combined."

Clawed fingers gripped his chin.

"We are brothers," Sesshoumaru stated as if that explained everything. "Kouga should not have attempted to hurt you."

When Inuyasha was allowed to come up for air, he waved the statement off dismissively. "It's really no big deal. I've dealt with worse. The world doesn't come to an end because my wee feelings got hurt."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "What?"

The hanyou frowned back at him. "Ya know, fighting, gettin' insulted, feelin' bad, getting over it…it comes with the territory."

Inuyasha watched dumbfounded as this only seemed to increase Sesshoumaru's anger.

"Comes with _what _territory?" the older demon hissed.

Inuyasha suspected he had missed the point somewhere along the way. "_Li-fe_?" he enunciated slowly. "That's what you learn to deal with as you go through life?"

When Sesshoumaru still looked clueless, he sighed.

"Don't you ever – you know…feel bad? Hasn't anyone ever said anything hurtful to you?"

Sesshoumaru blinked. "Hurtful?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You know, unflattering, uncomplimentary, insulting? Don't you feel bad?"

"Feel bad about what?" Sesshoumaru sounded perplexed.

Inuyasha seethed. "Ugh! Uh, well, about people having low opinion of you, umm taunts, insults?" Damn, that did not sound right out loud.

Sesshoumaru raised one perfect eyebrow. "You expect me to…feel bad?" he sounded disbelieving, as though he'd never really considered that before. "Why should I? They're idiots."

"They? Who's they?" Inuyasha asked.

Sesshoumaru shrugged elegantly. "Those insolent enough to pass judgment on their betters."

"Their betters?" It was Inuyasha's turn to sound incredulous. "How can you- arrggh! You're hopeless!"

A large, rough hand landed on his face, thumb brushing lightly over his cheeks.

"Inuyasha, people will put you down if you let them. It is in their nature to do so. But you are yourself. Never apologize for that."

Apologizing for who he was…that's all he'd done ever since he could remember. Apologizing for not bring strong enough to protect his mother, for not being human so he could be with Kikyou, for not being a demon so he could earn a place in his family, for not being better so he wouldn't be such a burden on the world.

Could he learn to stop now, after all these years?

Inuyasha fought to keep a blush from rising to his cheeks. "B-but but what if you're the one who's wrong?" he asked softly.

_What if I'm wrong and they're right?_

Sesshoumaru remained silent and Inuyasha tried to pluck up the courage to raise his eyes ad meet Sesshoumaru's. "What if you're wrong? Have you ever considered that?"

"I have considered it," Sesshoumaru murmured absently. Inuyasha finally dared to raise his eyes to see what his brother was doing. Sesshoumaru had inclined his head slightly and was watching Inuyasha's increasingly reddening nose with great interest.

"W-well?" Inuyasha asked expectantly, torn between reveling in his brother's attention and being pissed off that Sesshoumaru didn't seem to be listening to him.

Sword-calloused fingers brushed over slightly parted lips, sending a shiver through Inuyasha's body. "They are still idiots."

Inuyasha growled in frustration but couldn't help the grin that was breaking out on his face.

"Arrogant fucker," Inuyasha murmured, lunging forward awkwardly and wrapping his arms around the elder. He'd have to have a talk with his demon half later; it was making him want to do really silly things like roll over on his back and present his belly to the demon Lord. Right now, he was just content to relish in the warmth of the perfect body and Sesshoumaru's irrational possessiveness.

It was Sesshoumaru's turn to be surprised, but not unpleasantly so. He wrapped his arms around the boy he'd claimed at birth, then thrown away and then gained back again. Kouga was going to pay for hurting his brother; it just rubbed him the wrong way for some reason if anyone else put the half-breed down.

Inuyasha was _his_ to bully, dammit!

"Now," Sesshoumaru murmured, holding the younger boy at arm's length. "Go back to your friends and we will pay Kouga a visit in the morning."

Inuyasha looked up at him warily. "You're not planning to kill him, are you? Coz that;s just not ok."

"Fine," Sesshoumaru told him. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed suspiciously, searching the demon Lord's studiously blank face.

"Promise you won't kill him," Inuyasha insisted.

Sesshoumaru smiled slowly. "You have my word, the wolf prince will not lose his life at my hands tomorrow."

_o0o_

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: **Next chapter:** What happens to idiots who mess with Sesshoumaru's younger brother :D


	3. Payment and Payback

**Chapter 3 – Payment and Payback**

…_**You can take the rat through this life if you want**_

_**But you can't take the edge off a knife…**_

**-limp bizkit lyrics**

* * *

><p>Inuyasha wasn't surprised that he wasn't able to sleep for the rest of the night after coming back to the village.<p>

More to the point, after coming away from _Sesshoumaru._

With whom he'd be mating.

He wasn't completely sure all of it wasn't a freaky disturbing dream.

Sesshoumaru had promised to…what? What exactly had he promised? That he would twist Kouga's ears for being mean to him?

Even in the dark, Inuyasha's mouth twisted in disgust. If he needed his big brother to come and save his ass whenever something like that happened, he really was pathetic.

But there was also the fact that there was nothing much he could really do to stop Sesshoumaru from doing whatever the hell he wanted to Kouga, short of killing him. _That _Inuyasha would not allow and he didn't think it was what Sesshoumaru planned to do anyway. Waiting a night to kill somebody wasn't the bastard's style. If he'd been that pissed at Kouga, he would have found him and killed him within the minute.

There was also the fact that there wasn't anything he really _wanted_ to do about Sesshoumaru kicking Kouga's ass. Mostly because of his deep belief that Kouga deserved every ass-whooping he got but also because Sesshoumaru standing up for him made him feel disgustingly warm and gooey and it was a feeling he was coming to recognize within himself with increasing trepidation.

For the thousandth time, Inuyasha's eyes went to the horizon. It couldn't be long now before the sun came out. Soon, it would be morning. Sesshoumaru had promised to come for him in the morning.

Angrily, Inuyasha turned over on his stomach and shoved his face in his hands. Fuck, he was turning into such a girl.

* * *

><p>Kouga, in the meantime, was also awake.<p>

He couldn't tell what exactly had woken him but his senses were tingling, telling him there was danger close by.

He sniffed the air multiple times but couldn't smell any hostile youkai. He couldn't feel the presence of anything fishy either. But try as he might to reassure himself, he couldn't fall back to sleep. All his hair were standing on end and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was definitely wrong.

* * *

><p>It turned out, Kouga's instincts weren't wrong.<p>

Morning came, as it always does and when it did, there was a sudden flurry of activity in the camp of the wolf tribe.

They had an unexpected visitor.

Wolves, by nature, weren't the cleanest or the most elegant creatures and Kouga's wolves were even less so. Therefore, to have the Lord of the West walking leisurely in their midst wasn't something half-naked, still sleepy wolves were prepared for.

Stories of the white clad demon Lord who looked like Inuyasha and was stronger than Inuyasha had spread amongst the wolf clan of Kouga, courtesy of Ginta and Hakkaku who, in the words of one elderly wolf, gossiped like unwed girls.

There was no mistaking the silver hair and golden eyes and the pissed off aura of the Lord of the West.

One brave young wolfling had plucked up the courage to ask him what he wanted and subsequently, almost wet his fur loin cloth when those cold golden eyes focused on him.

"Tell Kouga I wish to speak with your council," the demon Lord had commanded and the whimpering boy, after gaping like a fish for a few seconds, had scurried off to deliver the message.

Ginta and Hakkaku recognized the telltale signs on their fearless leader's face which said that the young wolf as going to dig in his heels and possibly do something suicidal like refusing the Western lord's…request.

So they cajoled and coaxed the mighty wolf prince till Kouga relented and agreed to convene an emergency council.

So here they were, solemn and silent and uneasy, waiting for the demon Lord to explain the reason for his visit.

None of them could remember the last time the lord of the West had asked for an audience with their council. As their overlord, he could, of course demand to see them at any time but years of being left to their own devices made the wolves forget they weren't entirely their own masters.

But here they were, with Sesshoumaru and Kouga sitting opposite each other, each staring the other down. Well, it was actually Kouga glaring for all he was worth at a demon Lord who seemed quite uninterested in him.

This was the first time since Kouga, as their leader, had been called upon to perform any kind of diplomatic duty. The elder who had been their king before had been a good diplomat; it remained to be seen whether the same could be said of young, hot-headed Kouga.

"What can we do for you, Lord Sesshoumaru?" Kouga finally asked. He sounded as though he would rather be chewing on nails than being respectful towards the other.

Experienced golden eyes drifted slowly over elderly members of the council and the rest of the tribe members who had gathered to watch before he answered.

"A debt," he said finally, fixing his eyes back on Kouga. "I am here to settle a debt."

"A debt, Sesshoumaru-sama?" one of the elders spoke up.

Sesshoumaru turned to look at the elder. "Kouga owes me a life."

Gasps went through the crowd and soft murmuring broke out.

Kouga paled.

"What is the meaning of this?" one of the elders asked sternly, turning towards Kouga.

Kouga didn't answer. Images of a little girl with a pony tail and a smile that could light up the dark danced before his eyes. He remembered the same face contorted in pain, soaked in her own blood.

"That debt was paid," Kouga answered finally, meeting Sesshoumaru's eyes defiantly.

Sesshoumaru smiled. "If it was, you would not still be alive, Kouga."

One could hear the sound of hundreds of wolves breathing as all other sounds ceased.

"I saved her life," Kouga reminded him.

"After your pack finished with her, she did not have a life to be saved."

Kouga could feel all the elders' disapproving eyes on him. A leader who shirked responsibility wasn't welcome among them.

"Is this true?" one of the elders finally asked Kouga. "Did you take a life that belonged to Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"It didn't belong to him then," Kouga answered through clenched teeth.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Would it have made a difference had you known it did?"

"Yes," Kouga ground out. "My wolves wouldn't have gone anywhere near her if we'd known."

"It was calculated murder then," Sesshoumaru said. "A defenseless child was killed and devoured by your pack because she was unprotected and your wolves are spineless mutts who dare not fight to obtain prey."

Kouga rolled his eyes. "She was just a fucking human brat when my boys decided to make a snack of her."

A shocked silence followed this announcement and it occurred to Kouga that he may have made a tactical error.

"A child?" the most elderly of the councilmen whispered, staring in horror at Kouga. "You killed a child?"

Kouga growled in frustration. "I didn't kill her!" Kouga shouted. "It was the others-"

"A good leader takes responsibility for the actions of his pack," Sesshoumaru said quietly. "It would seem you have yet to learn this, cub."

"I know that damn well," Kouga snarled. How dare this sonofabitch call him a _cub_. "When that bitch Kagura slaughtered my wolves, didn't I move heaven and earth to avenge them?"

Sesshoumaru smiled coldly. "Running after Naraku every time he sent his messengers to summon you like a mutt would hardly be considered moving heaven and earth."

If it had been Inuyasha who'd said this, Kouga would have punched him in the face, whether he was the prince of the land or not but something about Sesshoumaru screamed _back off._

"I don't have to stand here to be insulted by you, Sesshoumaru," Kouga told him through gritted teeth.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Do you forfeit your life then?"

Kouga looked over his wolves. Eyes that had so far been curious or wondering had now turned disapproving. This was not going well.

Kouga raised his chin and looked Sesshoumaru in the eyes. "If it's a fight you're looking for, I'll give you one."

Sesshoumaru laughed, low and dark. "If I wished to take your life, it would take no more effort than the murder of a child."

Kouga remembered; that day Sesshoumaru and he had passed by each other without a word, his gut had told him he'd had a very close call.

The demon Lord sounded amused, watching remembrance flash across Kouga's eyes. "It was not Rin's life that was spared that day."

Kouga turned red. "You didn't spare my life, you asshole," Kouga ground out, aware that every word he said was making his stock go down with the council. "Try and beat me in a fair fight if you dare. Or are you all bark and no bite?"

Sesshoumaru raised one striped hand elegantly. Kouga tensed, stance shifting minutely to one more appropriate for a fight. Sesshoumaru didn't move an inch; his eyes remained fixed on Kouga's and his poison whip snapped out for a millisecond.

Kouga blinked.

In the clearing, every wolf's headband, including Kouga's fell softly to the ground. Sweat dripped from more than one brow as they felt their unmarked foreheads with trembling fingers.

Unconsciously, Kouga swallowed hard.

"A debt that is owed must be paid, not taken," Sesshoumaru told him quietly, though everyone in the clearing heard him.

"W-what do you want?" Kouga asked, hating himself for the way his voice shook just a tiny little bit.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Are you truly ignorant of protocol? Or have you lost the habit of getting on your knees since you usurped the position of chief?"

Kouga sputtered indignantly, face red with anger and humiliation. "How dare you-! I never knelt to anybody in my life, do you hear me? Not to anyone and least of all to the likes of you!"

Sesshoumaru very deliberately turned his eyes away from Kouga and looked at the elder council members.

"I do not wish for blood to be shed here today. However, if your…leader –" a contemptuous glance at Kouga – "…is a coward, the wolf demon tribe will end here."

Kouga could _feel _his team mates flinch at this statement and he strode forward, abandoning all pretext of appearing stately and diplomatic.

"You have a problem you take it up with me, asshole," Kouga shouted. "Leave them out of this. This has nothing to do with them."

And there was a gentle shift in tension as Kouga also implicitly acknowledged the fact that Sesshoumaru could indeed kill them if he chose.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "Weren't you just blaming your pack-mates for the death of Rin?"

Kouga didn't answer him, instead looking helplessly at the elders and his people.

"If you decide to take responsibility for your deeds and return the life that is owed, you will get on your knees and offer your head in payment."

Kouga flinched.

"You're outta your mind," he hissed.

Murmuring went up through the crowd again. Their leader was putting all of their lives in danger and all for a crime he'd committed.

"Shall I take the lives of your pack in payment, then?" Sesshoumaru asked, darting forward and grabbing hakkaku by the throat.

"No!" Kouga shouted, stumbling forward blindly.

Sesshoumaru smiled beautifically, holding the struggling hakkaku aloft effortlessly, deadly claws tightening around the wolf demon's defenseless throat. . "Make up your mind, Kouga. It will be one or the other."

Kouga stared at hakkau's face, red with the effort of trying to release the demon Lord's grasp.

It didn't feel real, all of this. One moment, life was going on as usual, and the next, Sesshoumaru had appeared in their lives and turned everything upside down. It didn't feel real that his pack could be annihilated at any moment, that hakkaku was struggling for his life in the demon Lord's hand.

That he was expected to give up his position and his life for a small mistake he'd committed so long ago.

"Well," Sesshoumaru said softly, looking over the gathered people. "It seems your leader chooses himself over all of you."

"I do not!" Kouga interrupted. "I told you, if you can kill me in a fair fight, come and do it. But I'm not – I'm not fucking getting on my knees and begging to be killed!"

Sesshoumaru was amused. "Any fight between you and me, Kouga, would be pathetically unfair for you."

Kouga whirled around and aimed a punch at his face for that. His fist was caught effortlessly.

Sesshoumaru met Kouga's eyes and smiled.

There was a sickening sound of bones crunching and Kouga howled in agony, cradling the remains of his crushed hand.

"I dislike having to repeat myself," Sesshoumaru said softly.

Sesshoumaru's claws twitched irritably and hakkaku cried out as they pierced his skin. Small rivulets of blood trickled down his throat and over Sesshoumaru's hand.

"My Lord," one of the elders from the council spoke, "Forgive his impudence; Kouga is young. He does not understand. We offer you our lives in his stead."

The thin, decimated old wolf stood up and stepped forward slowly. The other elders on the council followed suit. Their leader smiled.

"I knew my Lord's esteemed father," he said softly. "Lord Inu no Taisho once showed us mercy when we certainly did not deserve it. Had he done otherwise, the wolf-demon clan would have met its end long ago."

Kouga made a protesting sound but it choked in his throat. What was he talking about? He had not known the dog demon tribe had been anything but their enemies. He wanted to ask the elder what he was talking about but he seemed to have lost his voice.

He turned his head just in time to see him lower himself to his knees. The act was visibly painful but the man didn't allow any of his pain to show on his face.

"We are eternally in your esteemed father's debt and our lives are yours whenever you wish to call upon them. When our leader…died, the office of chief fell to Kouga before the elder had a chance to pass on the knowledge of the history of our tribe, our debts and duties."

The 6 elders, kneeling one beside the other, bowed their heads as one and Kouga watched, hypnotized, unable to move.

"If my Lord can find it in his heart to forgive a young boy for his ignorance and accept these lives that we offer you gratefully…"

Kouga's eyes snapped to Sesshoumaru as he slowly lowered Hakkaku to the ground and released his grip. The coughing, sputtering wolf hastily stepped back and tried to regain his breath.

"I was a child when Inu no Taisho concluded his treaty with the wolf-demon tribe. Father told me how honorably the leaders of this noble tribe conducted themselves and expiated the sins of a –" Sesshoumaru's eyes slid contemptuously to Kouga. "- of a stray. From what the wolves of this tribe have been guilty of, I had thought the honor and idealism my father had been witness to were long dead but you have shown me otherwise. Rise. I would not sully my father's memory by taking lives of those he held in respect."

The elders raised their head disbelievingly. "But my Lord, the debt…"

Sesshoumaru smiled coldly at Kouga. "It seems the esteemed leader of the wolf demon tribe is an ignorant boy…and a coward besides."

"Tell me, elder," he continued, eyes still fixed on Kouga. "How did your previous leader lose his life?"

The collective intake of breath and the spike of fear and shame in Kouga's scent gave Sesshoumaru his answer.

"I see," he said softly.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Inuyasha's long wait for morning was also over but that didn't make him feel any better.<p>

Dawn had broken long ago and Inuyasha had waited impatiently but Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be found. There were no signs of the bastard.

He couldn't help the panicked cold pouring into his heart. What if this had been no different than other times? What if Sesshoumaru had only been playing with him? What if this had all been nothing more than a sick twisted game to the arrogant asshole?

Was he an idiot for believing his brother like he had? Was he an idiot for thinking things were different after just 1 night?

Puppy ears flickered madly as Inuyasha tried to feel angry instead of how he actually felt – pathetic and abandoned.

Inuyasha reached out and let the palm of his hand rest against the bark of the sacred tree.

If Sesshoumaru had really done all of this just to pull one over on him, just to laugh at him, he swore by the goshinboku, the next time they met, he would run tessaiga through his heart.

* * *

><p>In Kouga's camp, Bakusaiga pulsed, surprising both Sesshoumaru and Kouga. The latter thought it was some manifestation of he demon Lord's anger, and took a few hasty steps back from both, the sword and it's Master.<p>

Sesshoumaru was amused. Kouga was turning out to be a regular wimp.

But that aside, Bakusaiga had never done that before. Sesshoumaru ignored the terrified wolf demon in favour of examining the dully glowing blade.

It was almost possible to reach out and touch Kouga's fear as Sesshoumaru slowly unsheathed his blade and held it upto eyelevel to examine it.

"Does it thirst for your blood, I wonder," Sesshoumaru mused, glancing at Kouga. "Is that what it is calling for?"

Kouga shook his head frantically, mouth set in a firm scowl.

The demon lord ran two fingers slowly over the length of the blade. Youki crackled and Sesshoumaru felt the unmistakable feel of Inuyasha's youki on his skin. It was Inuyasha. The blade was telling him to go to Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru turned to Kouga with a humorless smile. "Well, more important business than your worthless life has come up so I will let you live a little longer."

"You bastard don't-" Kouga began heatedly, trying to ignore the relief welling up inside him but Sesshoumaru's eyes darkened and he took a step back.

"Since you murdered your leader before taking the time to learn your duties, it falls to me to explain them to you," Sesshoumaru said calmly, and Kouga involuntarily clutched his broken hand close.

"This tribe is under my rule. As my vassal, leader of the wolf demons, my authority is above yours and I hereby strip you of your title and position as chief of this tribe. Battles may be fought and won by idiots like you but the responsibility of leadership shall remain with these honorable men you are not fit to raise your head before."

Kouga flinched.

"The life that you took was worth far more than that of a filthy coward like you."

"More than-" Kouga began incredulously. Sesshoumaru cut him off.

"A man's worth," Sesshoumaru said speculatively, "A man is only worth as much as his principles and whether he can live by them. A man's worth is judged by how high he can stand without pulling others down and by doing what needs to be done, no matter the cost."

"And in all these, you-" A contemptuous glance at Kouga from head to toe. "You, wolf prince Kouga, are nothing."

Something wilted in Kouga's eyes and his tail went limp, tucking defensively between his legs.

"You will henceforth remain in this tribe as nothing more than a common soldier and if I hear of any…misfortune…befalling any of the elders, you will answer to me."

* * *

><p>After Sesshoumaru left, Kouga had to sit down.<p>

His legs seemed to have turned to mush, along with the rest of his life. The condemning glances of his pack-mates burned holes in his head as the gathered people left silently, without a word to him.

What the hell did Sesshoumaru think of himself anyway, Kouga seethed. He wouldn't – couldn't let this go. His pride – no, not just his. The pride of his entire tribe had been turned to dust by the demon Lord today. Just because he was blue-blooded didn't mean he wouldn't have any skeleton's in his family closet. He would just have to find them and-

Kouga sat up straight as a thought struck him.

_I wonder what Sesshoumaru will have to say when he finds out how his half-brother behaved in a real fight…_

He'd teased Inuyasha about telling the villagers how about that particular fight but he hadn't really done it. Come to think of it, Sesshoumaru wouldn't risk having his precious family's reputation tarnished by having it known what a girl Inuyasha was, breaking down like that against a common, low class demon. Hell, it was so weak, it hadn't even tried to come anywhere near Kouga. It probably sensed his power and decided to aim for easier bait, like Inuyasha, instead.

Sesshoumaru would definitely be willing to…renegotiate his position in the tribe in light of the information.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I'd planned to conclude the fic in this chapter but it grew too long. So at least one more chapter to go! Reviews are welcome and loved.


	4. Pride and Perdition

**A/N: **Big thank you to all you awesome reviewers! ^.^You guys made the month before finals bearable. Love ya!

This chapter is dedicated to **Angelas **who made me want to finish this half-written chapter with detailed, entertaining, squee~ reviews ^.^

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 - Pride and Perdition<strong>

_Walk away _

_before i finish what you started_

-Trapt lyrics

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><p>When Sesshoumaru finally arrived, he was greeted by Inuyasha's livid eyes and tessaiga pointed at his throat.<p>

"What is this?" he asked, eyebrow raised. "Is this how you greet your alpha and mate, hanyou?"

"Mate?" Inuyasha hissed, grip tightening on tessaiga. "Don't fucking lie to me again. You were supposed to be here at dawn. You- you said -" puppy ears flickered angrily and then wilted back against the head. "But you disappeared….just like always. God, I don't know why I even expected anything different."

Tessaiga trembled fractionally closer to his skin and Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. Before Inuyasha could blink, he'd darted around the extended sword and wrapped a hand around Inuyasha's throat, slamming him up against a tree.

"I don't know what you are talking about, hanyou," he began coldly, golden eyes flashing. "But you will not behave this way. You are my mate. Mine. I gave you a choice yesterday; you cannot change your mind now."

Staring into his furious eyes, Inuyasha visibly relaxed, tessaiga transforming back to its harmless form in his hand.

"You- you didn't…lie…yesterday?" he asked, voice rasping under the crushing grip on his vocal cords. "Or you didn't change your mind and decide you didn't want to mate with- someone like me…?"

"You call me a liar, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru demanded, beginning to get angry himself. "What reason would I have to make false promises to a hanyou?"

Inuyasha glared, even as he felt blood rush to his face from the lack of oxygen. "There! There you go. I'm just a stupid hanyou anyway right so why would you care if – if you-"

In reply, Sesshoumaru leaned down and kissed him, squishing him harder against the tree trunk with his body. Tessaiga dropped quietly to the ground and Inuyasha's hands came up to tangle in his brother's hair.

Sesshoumaru's hard armour crushed the wind out of his lungs but he couldn't bring himself to try to move. The older brother's tongue was doing something amazing inside his mouth and all his anger was seeping away.

When Sesshoumaru finally pulled back, Inuyasha's eyes were almost opaque with lust.

"I don't know where you get your ridiculous ideas from," Sesshoumaru murmured, rubbing one furry flickering ear. "But I will redden your behind if I ever hear those words from your mouth again. Is that understood?"

Inuyasha nodded dumbly, lust-dazed mind not understanding anything except for Sesshoumaru's scent all around him, his brother's warmth seeping in through his hakama, Sesshoumaru's body pinning him reassuringly against the tree…

….then the words registered and Inuyasha went from delirious to furious.

"What did you just say?" he hissed, pushing against the armoured chest even as his demon half strongly objected to the idea. Dammit, how had he never noticed before how amazing the bastard smelled? If he had, he'd have lost even more fights than he already did against his brother. "If you think I'd bend over and let you spank my ass, you-"

"Who said you had a choice, little brother?" Sesshoumaru asked pleasantly, leaning over Inuyasha, enjoying the way his closeness seemed to fluster the younger sibling.

"Of course I have a choice," Inuyasha grouched, trying not to imagine the alternative, which was being thrown over his brother's lap with his ass in the air.

Sesshoumaru didn't fail to notice the spike in his brother's arousal. He smirked. "As the head of the family and guardian, I would be well within my rights to give you a spanking if you displeased me."

Inuyasha turned bright red, squirming to get away. "I'm not some small kid you can paddle!"

Sesshoumaru held him in place effortlessly. "You are centuries younger than I, Inuyasha. Your elder brother will spank you like a child if you behave like one."

Inuyasha turned even redder if possible, extremely annoyed at how his cock decided to perk up in interest at this weird turn their fight had taken.

"You – you don't spank children because they "displease" you anyway, you supercilious ass," Inuyasha argued, dimly aware that he was losing this particular battle of wits. But then, he didn't have many much strength to think as his brain decided it would be totally appropriate to send him images of his brother's clawed, sword-calloused hand on his naked bottom even as said brother pinned him against a tree in his village in plain view.

"I-It's supposed to be for their own good…"

Sesshoumaru laughed, a low, deep sound that made Inuyasha want to smile against his will. "Are you admitting you are a child then?"

"What I- no that's not what I said," Inuyasha flushed. "Y-you still can't spank me, you ass."

"It will be in your interests to learn your lessons if you wish to avoid punishment at your mate's hand," Sesshoumaru continued. "But as your mate and your alpha, I can spank you on a whim as well," Sesshoumaru told him, grinding against him, sending a jolt of pleasure through Inuyasha's cock at the friction. "And it does not seem like this delicious little body is at all averse to the idea."

Inuyasha moaned against his will shutting his eyes tightly. "Stop," he managed to groan. "The villagers…someone will see."

It wasn't likely, considering they were at the outskirts of the village and Sesshoumaru's aura would scare away and intelligent life forms, but still.

"And what if they do?" Sesshoumaru asked. "What are you ashamed of?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened. "I- I'm not. It's just, we're, well-"

A clawed hand breached his hakama and wrapped around his cock and Inuyasha bucked against the demon Lord in surprise, making Sesshoumaru chuckle.

"Don't touch my dick in front of everyone," Inuyasha hissed, glancing around frantically, trying to move away but only succeeding in increasing his pleasure.

"Are you protesting against the act itself or merely the venue?" Sesshoumaru asked, sounding all too amused at Inuyasha's plight.

The hanyou opened his mouth to retort but Sesshoumaru decided to leisurely stroke his cock with even, firm pressure and Inuyasha's knees buckled. He would have fallen to the floor if it hadn't been for Sesshoumaru's weight keeping him pinned to the tree.

"You are coming home with me," Sesshoumaru told him, gripping Inuyasha's cock tightly right before the downward stroke, making the hanyou's breath hitch. "And do not presume to think you have any choice in the matter."

"A-ah Sesshoumaru stop or I'll – I'll-"

A thumb stroked casually over the tip of Inuyasha's dick. "There will be no more of your nonsense."

Then Sesshoumaru froze, pulling back and frowning over Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Wh-what?" Inuyasha asked dazedly. "What's the matter?"

Sesshoumaru stepped back abruptly, making Inuyasha stumble from being pressed up against the tree for so long.

"The boy is suicidal," Sesshoumaru muttered irritably just as Kouga's scent hit Inuyasha's nose and he hastily tried to straighten himself.

Not long after, Kouga whirled to a stop in front of them, eyes going from Sesshoumaru to Inuyasha.

"Well, didn't expect to see you here mutt," Kouga said, assessing Inuyasha from head to toe. "And by your scent, I guess you two have been fighting again."

Inuyasha's knees nearly buckled with relief. He didn't think it was possible for a demon not to be able to smell the thick scent of arousal over both of them but that seemed to be the case. Then again, if wolves had a better sense of smell, they'd bathe more often.

Kouga tilted his head to the side. "I wonder how you've managed to survive your fights with him, Inuyasha." A mocking smirk at Sesshoumaru. "He must be weaker than I thought if hasn't managed to kill you off till now."

"You haven't managed to kill me off so far either," Inuyasha snapped, half mortified at the fact that they could have been caught by Kouga and half annoyed the wolf had to interfere when Sesshoumaru had been about to make him cum. "But then, there's really no comparison between you two."

Kouga bristled; that particular insult hit a little too close to home. "You don't know shit," he murmured, unobtrusively moving his crushed hand behind his back.

The movement caught Inuyasha's eyes and his eyebrows went up. "What the hell happened to you?" he wondered.

"That's none of your fucking business," Kouga glared.

"What are you doing here then?" Inuyasha asked.

"I have to talk to Sesshoumaru," Kouga grinned, his own humiliation forgotten in anticipation of what his news was going to do to Sesshoumaru. "There's something….he should know, don't you think so, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha's eyes hardened. "You…came here just to tell him that?"

Kouga ran a hand rakishly through his hair, putting his other hand on his hips. "What's the matter? Afraid of what big brother's going to do to you?"

_I'm more worried about what he'll do to you, _Inuyasha thought but he was finding it harder and harder to care about Sesshoumaru killing the wolf.

"Sesshoumaru," Kouga said turning to the demon Lord, still glancing sly at Inuyasha from the corner of his eyes. "There is something you should know about your brother here."

Sesshoumaru stared him down. Kouga blinked uncertainly.

"Well, do you want to know or not?" he asked irritably.

"Since you have followed me here for the purpose of telling me whatever inanity is on your mind, I doubt you will leave without saying it."

Kouga turned red. "Well pardon me for trying to keep your precious family's reputation out of the gutter."

The air grew several degrees colder as Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. Inuyasha glanced at him nervously but Kouga was too thickheaded to notice how he'd greatly decreased his chances of going away alive.

Kouga waited for Sesshoumaru to say something but the demon Lord remained silent. Kouga gritted his teeth irritable.

"Your precious brother is afraid of death," he announced, pointing triumphantly at Inuyasha. Inuyasha's eyes widened. Kouga may have been a bastard but he hadn't thought he would actually make good on his threat. Did the wolf demon really hate him that much?

"He cried like a girl in a fight," Kouga continued, blissfully unaware of both brother's thoughts.

Killing ki rose off the motionless demon Lord and Inuyasha opened his mouth to warn the idiot wolf but closed it again when his brother stepped forward slowly.

"Is that so?" Sesshoumaru asked Kouga softly. "Who was he fighting, pray tell."

Kouga waved his hand dismissively. "Some lower level demon, no big deal."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "I see. Did you fight this lower level demon as well then, Kouga?"

Kouga grinned confidently. "The little shit was smart enough not to pick a fight with me. I didn't have to fight him because it was dog boy over here it attacked, not me."

To Kouga's surprise, Sesshoumaru laughed, looking over his shoulder to meet Inuyasha's eyes. "If this is the company you keep, Inuyasha, I suppose I should not be surprised at your sub par intelligence."

Even though he'd just been insulted, Inuyasha couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips. He would never have believed Kouga was capable of being this stupid.

"There's nothing funny about your brother here being a frightened little bitch, after the way you just went on about being brave and doing what you need to do," Kouga hissed, face red at the realization that he was being laughed at but not sure what the joke was.

"When the hell did you say anything to Kouga?" Inuyasha frowned, looking from one to the other. "Wait, is that where you're been all morning?"

Sesshoumaru ignored him. "It is funny," he answered Kouga silkily. "I had thought you malicious but it seems you are merely stupid."

"Shut up," Kouga growled. "This is about Inuyasha not me."

"It was a ghost demon," Sesshoumaru said, taking measured steps towards Kouga and the wolf had to fight every instinct in his body that was telling him to run.

"The demon Inuyasha fought was a ghost demon. Do you know what a ghost demon is, Kouga?"

Kouga turned red, toes flexing in the dirt as his body tried to take him away from imminent danger. "Don't talk to me like I'm a kid, Sesshoumaru. Of course I know what a ghost demon is."

Sesshoumaru hummed thoughtfully. "Most children have intellects more advanced than yours, Kouga. You know what a ghost demon is and yet you fail to recognize what it was when you saw it."

Kouga's eyes widened is surprise. "S-saw it?" he stuttered. "What are you talking about? I ain't seen no ghost demon. Those things aren't real anyway. Just stupid superstition."

Sesshoumaru blinked. "Are you retarded?" he asked softly. "Do you understand what I am saying, Kouga? The demon that Inuyasha fought, the one Inuyasha _defeated _was a ghost demon."

Kouga snorted. "Dog shit over there couldn't have defeated a ghost demon, even if they were real. And it didn't look anything like what the stories say. Besides, if really was one of the strongest demons in existence, it would have tried to kill me too. Why would it target dog boy over there and ignore me?"

Sesshoumaru smiled angelically. "For the same reason I ignored you when we first met, wolf. Because you are not worth killing. The ghost demon is selective in its prey. It's understandable it would want nothing to do with a pitiful cub like you."

Kouga flushed. "Are you saying I'm not worth killing?" he demanded. "Because I will have you know I am –"

"Are what?" Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "A delicacy? I very much doubt it."

"Don't fuck with me," Kouga growled, one good hand tightening into a fist. "There's no way dog boy over here defeated a ghost demon. Hell, he can't even win in a fight against _you_."

Sesshoumaru shot an amused glance at Inuyasha who turned bright red. Kouga paused, looking suspiciously at the hanyou.

"What the hell's wrong with you today?" he asked. "You've been blushing like a freakin' bride."

"Hey don't be a sore loser," Inuyasha glared, willing the blood in his face to go away. "It's not my fault I can beat the shit out of a demon that didn't want you even as a snack."

Kouga stared, stunned for a moment. Then he threw his head back and laughed.

"I don't know what you two are playing at but I'm not fallin' for it. There is no way to prove anything. There's no way to prove that was damned ghost demon that Inuyasha beat before he cried like a little girl."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru so Inuyasha flinch at that statement. The elder brother's eyes grew cold.

"And I mean I don't even know what the big deal is," Kouga was guffawing. "Who really knows what so-called ghost demons do?"

"They take you to hell," Sesshoumaru answered quietly and Kouga froze in the middle of laughing.

"What?" he asked uncertainly.

"The take you to your hell, the place where your worst nightmares reside. That is what ghost demons do."

"Do you know what hell is, Kouga."

Without thinking Kouga took a couple of steps back from the demon Lord. "What kind of a stupid question is that?" he asked. "And besides, it's over now. Your "ghost demon" or whatever it was is dead. It's not like you can just find another one to prove it to me. There really aren't that many of those hangin'around…"

Sesshoumaru smiled at the almost spluttering wolf. "True. Ghost demons are almost impossible to find."

Kouga nodded dazedly. "Exactly. So there you go. There's nothing to be done so…so we'll all just forget about all this and-"

"If you could," Sesshoumaru cut in, "If you could fight it would you accept? Would you go to hell for your pride, Kouga?"

Kouga felt a warning shiver down his spine, the one that told him to turn around and run for his life, but he steeled himself. "Of course I would," he lied boldly. "I can do anything dogshit here can do,"

"Let us put that to the test then," Sesshoumaru said, unsheathing tenseiga slowly.

Kouga stared at the blade, hypnotized. "What're you gonna do with that?" he scoffed. "Kill me? After all that bullshit you spouted to the elders? I don't think so."

The demon Lord slowly raised the sword to his eye level, running a finger over the dulled blade, gazing intently at the metal. His father's legacy, the other half – no, the cast off of - tessaiga.

"Are you sure about that Kouga?" he asked softly.

Kouga's gaze was going back and forth between the sword and its wielder. "Yes," he announced. "Yeah you're not gonna kill me."

Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped up to meet his, cold and furious and for a single moment, Kouga thought, _he can't…he won't. But what if-_

He only had time to take a single step back before tenseiga was thrust through his heart.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: To be continued! **Chappie grew too long again so I'm not concluding here. Besides, Inuyasha would be murderous if I didn't write the mating lemon. That'll be the next chappie. Review please!


	5. That Which Never Changes

**A/N: **This is story is now officially complete. Thank you for staying with me so far! The unedited versions of the previous chapters, along with the lemons, are all back up.

**WARNINGS:** This chapter contains yaoi, incest, explicit lemon, S&M, some strong language, mentions of violence. If you are not comfortable with these, please leave.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5 – That Which Never Changes<strong>

_**And when the ground begins to shake**_

_**And when my courage starts to fade**_

_**I let my fears go**_

_**You shake me **_

_**You break me **_

_**You make me whole again **_

_**Your nature **_

_**Unchanging **_

_**All fails, but you remain **_

_**Skillet lyrics**_

* * *

><p>The power of tenseiga matched with Sesshoumaru's own will and a light blue barrier flared up around him and Kouga.<p>

Inuyasha was alarmed. "Sesshoumaru, what the fuck are you doing? You promised you wouldn't kill him."

Sesshoumaru didn't move, didn't glance at Inuyasha. He held tenseiga steady through Kouga's heart. Inuyasha could dimly see a faint channel of youki passing from Sesshoumaru into tenseiga.

"I did not kill him," Sesshoumaru answered. "Tenseiga is the sword that cannot kill."

Inuyasha let out breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "The sword that gives life…"

Then his eyes narrowed. "What does it do to a person who's alive? And why are you holding it like that?"

The slightest of smiles appeared on Sesshoumaru's lips. "It may be father's power in tenseiga but it is my sword. The sword that bridges the gap between the worlds…I am taking Kouga to the other side. Kouga is going to spend some time in his hell."

* * *

><p>The first thing that Kouga's brain registered was blood. Lots of it.<p>

Blinking his eyes to clear his groggy vision, Kouga turned his face away at the strong stench of old blood.

His pack mates' blood.

Mixed with the foul stench was something else; the scent of dead cherry blossoms. It closed in on Kouga, pressing in on him from all sides till he stumbled from the pressure.

Slowly, his eyes adjusted themselves to the strange, opaque darkness that was like a dark curtain before his eyes. As a demon, Kouga was not used to being unable to see, even in pitch dark. But the darkness in this place was different, like there was no light in the world that could break through it. This darkness was leeching away his memory of light. There was no light. There had never been any light.

There was blood under his feet. He seemed to be standing on it. There didn't seem to be any solid ground under his feet; just the blood. Kouga looked around slowly, squinting at the foggy outlines he could make out in the dark. He began to walk towards them. The blood under his feet made a quiet, squelching sound.

A cautious hand reached out to touch the object in front of it.

Teeth.

Fur.

Kouga made out the outline of a severed wolf's head under his fingers; his long-time friend, one of the few who had supported him in his rise to power. He had never forgiven the bitch Kagura for slicing him to ribbons like so much meet.

An upside down sightless eye, open and frozen in death, glinted up dully at him.

Kouga backed away swiftly, eyes unable to look away from the horror.

But the head followed him, allowing no more distance between him and it than there had been a moment ago. Or rather, Kouga's feet seemed incapable of moving him away. There was no ground under his feet to walk on.

The foggy outlines slowly came into focus. Sliced up bodies of wolves, piled carelessly one on top of the other. Fur torn and matted with blood.

Kouga's heart stuttered, brain trying to make sense of the images his eyes were sending him. This was the same…the same as the night Kagura had killed his wolves. But that was all over long ago.

But it didn't feel over. It felt like now, like Kagura had just killed them now. Like this was the time the killing had happened. Kagura had killed them just now and time had stopped.

The upside-down eye blinked.

The face turned slowly, turning the right way up.

"Kouga…" Kouga flinched. The voice didn't sound like a zombie's or a ghost's. It sounded exactly as his friend had sounded – calm and strong. His friend who had died, who had been killed, who had just died, who had died…

"Kouga, we're being killed. What do we do?"

The words had haunted him in his dreams. But in his dreams, they were spoken by the living man, not a disembodied head. The head that remained after the battle was over.

"We're being killed."

Just a head. His friend who had died obeying his orders.

"What do we do?"

"Shut up!" Kouga screamed but no sound came out. It was like trying to talk under water. The air was heavier. He couldn't breathe.

But the head became quiet and still again.

Kouga felt a stab through his heart as though he had killed his friend anew.

Killed his friend. He had killed his friend.

"No!" he said loudly. He could hear his voice clear and strong this time but now there was no one to hear. He had told his friend's head to shut up and now it couldn't hear him. The man had always listened to him, even when he didn't deserve to be listened to.

No, no that wasn't true. He'd been a good leader. He'd made a better leader than the fool who sat drooling in his chair, keeping the glorious wolf tribe hidden away in the mountains. He'd made a good leader. It wasn't his fault Kagura had come and destroyed everything that meant anything to him.

He was a good leader!

His friend had always told him so.

His friend was now dead.

The scent of cherry blossoms was stronger now, mixing with another sweet scent, the scent of purple flowers.

Ayame's scent.

He looked around wildly, hoping against hope she would come, appear before him even if only for a moment.

But no, he'd sent her away. Ayame would never come back again. Ayame had loved him and he had told her to go away and she'd obeyed.

Kouga felt his head begin to throb. Why did people always obey him? He was the leader, right? It was his job to give orders. It wasn't his fault that people listened to him. If only they had enough sense not to listen to him…

There was a man standing before him.

The previous leader of the wolf demon tribe, old but still dignified.

Kouga walked slowly towards him and stabbed him through the chest.

No, no that wasn't right. This had happened long ago, many years ago. This had already happened. It wasn't happening now. It had finished happening.

In his arms, the leader slumped forward with a quiet groan, as dignified in death as he had been in life. Kouga raised his head up to see his face and stabbed him again.

Horrified, he tried to push away, back away from the dead man, move away, move back but his muscles would not obey him, his thoughts and his body seemed separate. In his mind, he felt the triumph of killing the old man again.

There he was, the leader. Standing there again. Slowly, Kouga walked forward and stabbed him. There was that triumphant feeling. He was finally the leader. People would have to obey him. He could do whatever he liked.

The leader slumped in his arms. Kouga raised his face up and stabbed him again.

In his mind, Kouga was dimly aware that he was screaming but outside his mind, it was quiet. Serene. Peaceful.

The wind picked up. There were his mother and father looking at him proudly, their only son, so strong and smart.

They were smiling. They had been proud of him. Later on, when he grew up, he'd accused them of many things, of not loving him, of not allowing him to fulfil his potential, of not wanting him to be successful. Right now, he couldn't figure out for the life of him why he had accused them of those things. Right now, all those things were yet to happen, would not happen for many years. He wouldn't accuse them of that. If he did, they would die. They had already died.

They were saying something to him, praising him. His mother's voice, not soft and modulated but kind. His father's stern voice. They were praising him. Kouga felt a flutter of happiness.

Then he walked up to them and began to say all of the things he had already said. He saw the pain on their face, the tears in his mother's eyes but he couldn't stop his mouth from saying all of those things.

Their eyes were closing now, they were falling, falling, dying and he couldn't stop talking, couldn't close his mouth and stop saying all of the things he had already said, couldn't stop his parents dying again, dying of a broken heart, of disappointment and pain.

Something wet touched his feet and Kouga looked down. It was his father's hand, covered in blood, reaching shakily for his foot. Kouga saw guilt and desperation in his father's pleading eyes, as the older man slowly reached for Kouga's foot.

"I'm sorry," the old man whispered pleadingly and Kouga stepped back, out of his father's reach. The old man tried in vain to cover up the distance, begging to be forgiven, begging, begging…

"No," Kouga whispered in a trembling voice, "no, I can't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't do this, I won't do it…"

But he did. His friend, Ayame, the tribe leader, his parents, he killed them again and again and try as he might, he couldn't get himself to stop, couldn't stop, couldn't do anything except this because this is what he had done. He had done this. He was the person who had done this. He was this person, who did things like these –

…and Sesshoumaru wrenched tensaiga out of his body. Kouga stumbled, swayed on his feet, disoriented at suddenly having solid ground under his feet. Blindly, Kouga reached out, fist closing over air. His legs trembled; he retched violently and vomited onto the ground.

Inuyasha watched, horrified eyes moving from the broken wolf to his brother.

"What did you do to him," he whispered hoarsely, unable to tear his eyes away from Kouga. His face was haggard and drawn; he seemed to have aged 50 years. Once brilliant, blue eyes were now dull and haunted. He could no longer recognize the brash, confident man in this trembling boy.

Sesshoumaru didn't answer, didn't take his eyes off of the wolf prince. Kouga wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and slowly turned around.

"I-" he closed his mouth , looking uncertainly at Sesshoumaru.

"I di-did those things," he whispered plaintively. Sesshoumaru said nothing.

"I did those things," Kouga repeated. "So now, who am I?"

Sesshoumaru's cold, impassive eyes kept him rooted to the spot. After a few moments, he answered himself. "I am worth…nothing."

"No," Inuyasha protested, taking a step towards the pitiful form of the once proud wolf. "Kouga, don't-"

Sesshoumaru caught him by the neck and threw him back. Inuyasha stumbled, shocked.

"Leave him be," Sesshoumaru ordered coldly. "He had been warned."

"You can't do that to him!" Inuyasha exclaimed, "Whatever he did, he didn't deserve that, he doesn't deserve-"

"But it is exactly what he deserves," Sesshoumaru interrupted, voice low and ruthless. "He hurt what is mine. He hurt you, Inuyasha. This is what he deserves."

Inuyasha felt the breath leave his lungs, with an alien feeling in his chest. "All this…you did this because, just because he tried to hurt me…?"

Sesshoumaru met his gaze steadily, unrepentant.

Inuyasha tore his eyes away from molten golden ones and stared helplessly at the shell of what had been Kouga. "I didn't ask for this, dammit! I didn't ask you to do this for me. I didn't want this!"

Ignoring Kouga, Sesshoumaru walked serenely towards Inuyasha and circled a possessive arm around his waist, holding him so close that the hanyou was crushed against his chest.

"Presumptuous as always, hanyou," he chided. "What makes you think I did it for you? It is not up to you how I deal with my vassals."

Inuyasha struggled, brutally pushing down the tears that came to his eyes at the injustice of what his brother had done to Kouga and his reasons for doing it. "Don't bullshit me, you bastard. You don't get to do what you did to Kouga, you hear me? You can't do this to him!"

Sesshoumaru captured his brother's wrists with his free hand and pinned them behind Inuyasha's back, making the hanyou grunt as his shoulders were wrenched back.

"I can do whatever I want," Sesshoumaru whispered silkily, looking down with amusement at the hanyou's fiery eyes. "But knew this. You know me. What is it that you balk at, hanyou?"

Inuyasha was very aware of his each breath, coming short and fast, of the blood pounding in his temples.

"Yes," he whispered, looking helplessly up at his brother, at the man who had meant more to him than a father, than anyone else in the world for as long as he remembered. "I know you. But I can't…I can't let you do this, not for me…"

Sesshoumaru laughed, low and deep, leaning down to kiss Inuyasha's lips. "Not for you, never for you," he answered, meeting his brother's tormented eyes. "You begged me not kill him, I granted your request. The wolf is alive. You have no further say in what I do to him. I cannot have him hurt my mate and escape unscathed."

"I ain't your mate yet," Inuyasha grouched, leaning his head against his annoyingly tall brother's chest.

"That will be remedied soon enough," Sesshoumaru answered contentedly.

Inuyasha felt a spreading warmth in his chest at the words and he shivered, unconsciously leaning in closer to Sesshoumaru's body.

_Is this what my life is going to be from now on_, Inuyasha wondered. _Is it possible that this feeling will last my entire lifetime?_

He couldn't believe it, couldn't allow himself to believe it and yet he knew that if there was anything constant in this world, it was Sesshoumaru. Everything and everyone else had come and gone but Sesshoumaru had remained the same, unchanging and unchangeable. For better or for worse, his brother would always be this way - an arrogant, controlling, possessive bastard with no conscience.

Then his wrists were released and Sesshoumaru's other arm came to envelope him from behind. Inuyasha blinked and the landscape was gone, passing under them in a blur as Sesshoumaru transformed into a ball of energy and speeded across the sky towards the castle of the Lord of the West.

Unnoticed, Kouga stared after them with hollow, unseeing eyes and turned his dragging steps towards his home.

* * *

><p>Inuyasha stared at his brother anxiously as the doors of Sesshoumaru's chambers slammed shut with an ominous sound.<p>

Sesshoumaru seemed entirely unaffected, calmly removing his swords from his obi and putting them away as though this was completely normal, as if there was nothing fundamentally wrong with having his hanyou brother on his bed.

Inuyasha followed his every movement warily with his eyes, like a prey watching its predator.

He wasn't completely ignorant. He knew what a mating was among demons and what it involved. One partner submitted to the other, letting them have their way with their body.

_Goshujin-sama._

The phrase reverberated through his mind in the quiet of the night. It had two meanings: husband and Master. He tried to imagine himself calling Sesshoumaru that. The thought made him sick to the stomach.

He wondered how Sesshoumaru intended to get him to submit. Would he be tied up while the demon Lord took him? Would he be beaten into submission? These were the last few moments of his free life. After this night, everything would change.

More than once, he glanced at the open window. He could make a run for it. He could escape and never show his face to Sesshoumaru again. Sesshoumaru would probably be pissed enough to not go through the trouble of tracking down a hanyou.

He thought of refusing, of telling Sesshoumaru he didn't want this, and couldn't things just go back to the way they were? But he knew they couldn't. One way or another, things would never be the same again and though the idea of being a docile little bitch to Sesshoumaru was frightening, Inuyasha found that the idea of losing him was even more frightening. Too many times, Inuyasha had yearned for his brother's attention and too many times, his brother had denied him. Now, after everything that had happened, Inuyasha found he wasn't strong enough to walk away from his brother's approval.

"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru's voice pulled him out of his musings.

"What?" he grouched, then bit his tongue, realising where he was and what he was about to become. "I-I mean yes?"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Attempting to be respectful, hanyou?"

The insufferable bastard looked amused.

Inuyasha felt his face become hot. "Shut up," he grumbled despairingly.

Sesshoumaru came and sat next to him on the edge of the bed and Inuyasha unconsciously scooted back, away from him. Strong fingers gripped his chin and dragged him closer, pulling him up for a tender kiss. When Sesshoumaru pulled back, his hand remained on Inuyasha's head to rub flickering ears soothingly. "Relax," he whispered against Inuyasha's mouth.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about-" Inuyasha began heatedly, then caught himself. "I-I mean yes. Ok, I'll – I'll try." But every muscle in his body was tensed, anticipating the moment his clothes would be torn off his body.

Sesshoumaru made no move to touch him further. One eyebrow was raised arrogantly. "Finally decided to accept your place, puppy?"

Inuyasha forgot his anxieties for the moment and frowned thunderously. "Whaddya mean, asshole?"

"You are being a very obedient dog today. What is the matter? Are you ill?"

Inuyasha blinked at him stupidly.

Then he exploded.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM? I'm tryin' my best to be nice here. I – I don't know how to be a good mate, alright? And I'll probably never be as good as you want me to be but – but I'm tryin' and if you'll just tell me what I'm supposed to do, I'll do it…at least, I'll try to and – and what do you want from me?" What had begun as a shout slowly petered out into a hoarse whisper. Inuyasha looked down and away, unwilling to meet his brother's eyes.

A clawed finger flicked his ear in response.

"Oww," Inuyasha grumbled, eyes stinging with the pain, covering his ears with his palms, glaring accusingly at his brother.

"Idiot," Sesshoumaru said unconcernedly. "You overestimate your capabilities if you think the best efforts on your part can turn a wild dog into a civilised mate. I do not expect it of you."

For some reason, this statement stung. Inuyasha lowered his bangs to cover his eyes. "You're wrong. I _can_ be…I can change, if you give me a chance…"

"No."

Inuyasha flinched, glancing up hastily. The ache in his chest was back. All his life, in his deepest, most private dreams, he had wished for this, for being on his home with his brother and now, he suddenly found himself wishing he could be anywhere but here.

Sesshoumaru stood up and circled the bed, coming to sit on the empty side. Inuyasha followed him with his eyes, bitterly noting how effortlessly graceful he was. Thiers was a match made in hell.

Sesshoumaru sat down on the bed, still fully dressed and lay down against the pillows.

"Do you remember the time I put my hand through your stomach?"

Inuyasha froze. This was such an incongruous statement, considering the circumstances, that Inuyasha momentarily forgot what they had been talking about.

"How could I forget? It took me days to heal from your stupid poison."

Sesshoumaru smirked, staring up at the ceiling. "Be grateful I did not use the full intensity of my poison or you would not have recovered at all."

Now Inuyasha was pissed. "Do you remember the time I cut your arm off, bastard?"

Sesshoumaru raised his chin haughtily. "That was my weakness, not your victory," he answered icily.

"Hah!" Inuyasha scoffed. "You would be dead if I had wanted you dead, and you know it."

Sesshoumaru turned his head to glare at him. "You would not have had the opportunity if I was not merely testing you."

"Tessaiga would have killed you if you didn't have tenseiga."

"Without tessaiga, you would be nothing more than a mindless dog…not that your current self is much of an improvement."

Bare feet half-heartedly pushed against Sesshoumaru's legs in punishment. "I don't like you," Inuyasha announced.

A clawed hand abruptly grabbed the front of his haori and Inuyasha was pulled on top of his brother and kissed thoroughly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Sesshoumaru whispered as Inuyasha's body relaxed against his will, surging with adrenaline and lust.

"Get undressed, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru said, releasing Inuyasha from his arms so that the hanyou could comply.

Inuyasha felt drunk, as if everything happening around him wasn't entirely real. In a haze, he sat up on Sesshoumaru's stomach and began shrugging out of his haori and kosode. He dropped them off the side of the bed.

Climbing up on his knees, he untied his hakama and tried to take those off, still crouched over his brother. He soon realised it was impossible to do while still kneeling. Sesshoumaru watched him lazily, through half-lidded eyes, making no move to help.

Inuyasha glanced at him hesitantly, then climbed down from the bed. He pulled his hakama down below his knees and stumbled out of them, kicking them to the side.

Inuyasha was standing close to the bed, feeling awkward and uncertain and very very vulnerable. It felt like something else had been stripped off along with his clothes but he didn't know what it was. The night air felt very cool against his sweaty, suddenly sensitive skin. He stood shyly in front of his still fully clothed brother, wondering what he was supposed to do.

When Sesshoumaru didn't move from the bed or say anything, Inuyasha hesitantly stepped forward to sit down next to him.

"Stop," the demon prince ordered, and Inuyasha froze.

Slowly, unhurriedly, Sesshoumaru got to his feet and came to stand before the trembling half demon. It struck Inuyasha how slender he was compared to the demon Lord. Looking up at him like this, Inuyasha felt like some sort of virgin sacrifice before a god.

Not that he thought his brother was a god. Nope. Nada. Not a chance.

But those cold golden eyes were looking at him and Inuyasha took a shaky breath.

"Undress me," Sesshoumaru ordered.

Still dazed, Inuyasha obeyed, stepping forward and reaching for his brother's obi. For a moment, he hesitated with his fingers over the fine demon silk. He felt like he was doing something he shouldn't be, trying to touch the fine, flawless silk with his hanyou hands. In battle, he had no qualms with ruining his brother's clothing or even his person but here, like this, it wasn't the same at all.

Steeling himself, he did close his hand over the cool silk and began to untie the complex knot of his obi. The more he untied it, the more entangled it became. Finally, he ended up tugging at it impatiently when his efforts proved futile. He looked helplessly up at Sesshoumaru for help.

Realising no one was going to come to his aid, Inuyasha growled, resorting to his own methods of untangling knots.

He knelt down and hooked one fang in the yellow silk obi, making a small hole in it and then tore it off. The sound of ripping silk was very loud in the quiet room and he glanced up to see if his brother was pissed. Sesshoumaru watched him impassively.

Still unable to shake the feeling of being a virgin sacrifice before a god, he stood up and reached forward, slipping the haori off the motionless demon Lord's shoulders. Sesshoumaru hadn't yet said a word, hadn't touched him and still, Inuyasha got the distinct feeling of serving, of showing his submission to his brother.

Colour rose to Inuyasha's cheeks as he began to untie his brother's hakama. His body felt gangly and awkward. Fingers fumbling with nerves, it took him longer than it normally would have to do the simple task. Finally, the silk hakama pooled at Sesshoumaru's feet and the demon Lord gracefully stepped out of them

Inuyasha allowed his arms to drop to his side and stared down at the ground, unable to muster the courage to look up at the form of his naked brother.

Then Sesshoumaru was suddenly too close, his intoxicating scent all around him and Inuyasha found himself lying on his back on the bed, his brother hovering over him.

Moonlight coming in from the window fell on the Sesshoumaru, making his silver hair shimmer. Inuyasha could see the molten golden eyes and the glint of a fang as Sesshoumaru smiled and Inuyasha felt the breath leave his lungs.

He was so achingly beautiful in the moonlight, all hard muscles and pale skin. The purple markings on his face appeared on his hips, on his arms, on his thighs...

Inuyasha blushed and closed his eyes, wiling his wildly beating heart to calm down, to enjoy this moment that was supposed to be the happiest of his life.

"Open your eyes, hanyou."

Pissed off golden eyes snapped open and Inuyasha glared. If anyone knew how to ruin a moment, it was Sesshoumaru.

He blushed; they were still naked and Sesshoumaru was still hovering over him like some sort of demented albatross. He tried not to wiggle, tried not to move. Sesshoumaru had still not touched him.

"Can't you stop insulting me for one ni-"

Inuyasha stuttered to a stop, suddenly aware he sounded like a simpering bride. He looked away, allowing his bangs to cover his suddenly vulnerable eyes. Why had he expected him to understand? Why was he expecting _sensitivity_ from _Sesshoumaru_ whose way of showing he cared was to puncture him full of holes?

"One night?" Sesshoumaru asked, idly rubbing the tip of one furry ear. It flickered, shying away from the intruder. "This is who we are, Inuyasha. One night or a thousand, that does not- should not – change."

Inuyasha put his hands on his brother's arms, not sure if he wanted to push him away or pull him closer. He wanted to say something, wanted to protest but he got lost in his brother's eyes, his brother who was currently naked on top of him.

"Who am I, brother?"

The title fell easily, comfortably as if there was nothing wrong at all with calling his would-be mate that. Brothers…would they still be brothers after this happened? Would Sesshoumaru still allow him to call him that?

Sesshoumaru gripped his chin and held his face steady, forcing him to meet his eyes. "You –" he announced, "- are a brat."

Inuyasha gasped, opened his mouth to protest but Sesshoumaru didn't give him the chance. "You are the brat who survived a hand through your stomach. You are the one who passed out after cumming with your cock in my hand."

Inuyasha gasped arching unconsciously against the body on top of him, his arousal surging from the words and his brother's low, dangerous voice.

"You are the one who fought a ghost demon and lived. You are a foul mouthed hanyou who doesn't know when to back down. You are my brother."

One clawed hand came up to wrap around Inuyasha's throat, holding his eyes all the while.

"And I am the one who put a hand through your stomach." The hand around his throat tightened and along with it, so did Inuyasha's cock.

"I am the one who can hurt you."

Lethal fangs nipped Inuyasha's jugular and Inuyasha arched his neck, baring himself to his aggressor.

"I am the one who will kill you."

"Then kill me," Inuyasha rasped, arching against the hold on his neck, willing it to tighten. "Kill me now so we can be this, so I don't have to be anything else."

Sesshoumaru laughed, eyes cruel and cold. Then he leaned down and smashed his mouth over Inuyasha's smothering his words, smothering his breath. The hand around his neck tightened and Inuyasha whimpered exploded, cumming hard without a touch to his cock.

Sesshoumaru glanced down impassively at the mess between his brother's legs. Inuyasha tried instinctively to close his legs, even as his body shuddered with his release. Sesshoumaru placed his knee between Inuyasha's legs and ruthlessly pulled them apart. Sesshoumaru's powerful thigh was between his legs, his softened, wet dick brushing intimately against the steely muscles of Sesshoumaru's leg.

Inuyasha cried out, a dry sob of ecstasy and humiliation burning in his throat.

"You will never be anything else," Sesshoumaru promised, voice velvety and implacable.

Arms strong enough to throw a boulder a hundred feet now pushed ineffectually against Sesshoumaru's, struggling to push him away.

"No," Inuyasha ranted, "No, you don't - you don't wanna do this, Sesshoumaru. You don't know me as well as you think you do. I am not – I am not strong. I am not brave. I'm not good or powerful or graceful. You don't want this- this mess. You don't want me, Sesshoumaru."

A clawed thumb rubbed idly over the side of Inuyasha's mouth. Sesshoumaru moved, the thigh between Inuyasha's leg providing delicious pressure on his over-sensitive cock. Inuyasha's legs splayed awkwardly around Sesshoumaru tensed and twitched.

"I don't know you?" Sesshoumaru asked softly. With a thrill of secret pleasure, Inuyasha realised he sounded furious.

Inuyasha's wrists were captured in one big hand and slammed above his head. "You are an idiotic, presumptuous little hanyou who does not know his place."

The hand around his wrist glowed poison green and Inuyasha cried out as the skin on his wrists sizzled and burned.

"You are a masochist," Sesshoumaru whispered.

"Fuck," Inuyasha cursed. He was growing hard again. What the fuck was wrong with him…

"I know you better than anyone could possibly know you," Sesshoumaru hissed. "I know all the worst things about you."

His wrists were abruptly released. The wonderful pressure between his legs was gone. Inuyasha felt the loss of warmth before his eyes registered the fact that Sesshoumaru had moved away, that the demon Lord was not touching him anymore.

Inuyasha turned his head to see Sesshoumaru lounging back against the pillows, cock erect and proud between his legs. But the look on his face was indolent.

"You are mine," Sesshoumaru said simply, the words devoid of emotion, an inescapable fact. Inuyasha couldn't pull his eyes away from his brother's. His, yes he was Sesshoumaru's. In that moment, Inuyasha suddenly realised that he had always been, since the day he met the demon Lord as a child, he'd belonged to him, all through the hatred and the battles and everything else they had been through. He would always belong to Sesshoumaru, no matter what happened after this, no matter badly the demon Lord chose to treat him. He could leave, he could fight but it wouldn't change the fact that his soul belonged to Sesshoumaru.

"Submit to me," Sesshoumaru ordered softly and Inuyasha felt his heart leap with joy even as his mind told him he was weak, a coward, pathetic. "Submit to me now, of your own free will, Inuyasha. I will not force you. But if you don't …"

Every fibre of his being hung on the demon Lord's next few words.

_What if I don't,_ Inuyasha wondered. _What will you do to me if I don't, brother? Will you stop me if I try to leave? Will you hold me captive? Will you strike me, kill me…what will you do if I don't submit?_

"If you don't," Sesshoumaru continued, "you will go back to your life. But remember that you will never belong to anyone else. I will not allow another to claim you. If you ever give yourself to anyone else, they will die by my hand and you will be alone."

"You will let me leave?" Inuyasha whispered.

Sesshoumaru looked at him and in his eyes, Inuyasha could see all his years of loneliness reflected back to him.

"I never stop anyone from leaving," Sesshoumaru answered emotionlessly.

Images of their father and a full moon and a raging sea swam before Inuyasha's eyes. Even when he went to die, Sesshoumaru had not stopped their father from leaving.

Inuyasha smiled thinly. "Yeah, you're the one who's usually doing the leaving."

"Yes," Sesshoumaru answered, and it struck Inuyasha for the first time how incongruous it was to have the demon Lord stake a claim on anyone. Sesshoumaru did not need anyone. Sesshoumaru had never needed anyone. Other people needed Sesshoumaru and he stayed until he got bored of them. Sesshoumaru never came back for the ones he left behind. Sesshoumaru never looked back.

And yet, here he was, with the little brother he had left so long ago. He had come back. Every time Sesshoumaru left him, he had come back. And here he was, promising to make his life a living hell if he left. Promising him that _Sesshoumaru_ would never leave even if Inuyasha did.

The realisation that Sesshoumaru cared for him, cared for him in a way he had never cared for anyone else, made Inuyasha cry.

The hanyou quietly sat up and holding his brother's eyes, bowed low before him, pressing his face into the mattress, hiking his ass in the air.

"Take me, brother," he said, unashamed of the tears that overflowed from his eyes, onto the sheets. "I will submit, because you know me and you want me and because I can't do otherwise."

The heavy body covering his own almost made Inuyasha's knees buckle but he held himself up by the force of his will. Sesshoumaru's cock was large and hard against his most intimate opening.

The thought that he had bared himself to another man, had offered himself up to be devoured by this demon, mindless of the pain, brought another surge of arousal to his groin.

Sesshoumaru's eyes glowed red and feral. He pressed his little brother's neck harshly into the sheets and pushed into his brother, breaching his most guarded entrance in one, stabbing thrust.

Inuyasha screamed, unashamed of the agony, unashamed of the pleasure he took in it. He was _wanted._ By the one person he had worshipped since he could remember. Nothing else mattered anymore.

In just a few thrusts, Sesshoumaru found his prostate brushing against it teasingly, refusing to allow him the touch that would send him over the edge. Under him, Inuyasha thrashed and struggled, secure in the knowledge that his brother's grip on him would not allow him to hurt himself.

An arm wound around his chest and pulled him up against the demon Lord. The action caused the cock inside of him to spear him deeper and Inuyasha trembled with the pain and the feel of something pulsating so deep inside of him that he was afraid it would become a part of him.

White hair feel unceremoniously over one shoulder and Inuyasha's head lolled to the side, helplessly presenting himself to be marked. Sesshoumaru snarled at the display, his hanyou, wantonly begging to be claimed.

Fangs elongated and Sesshoumaru threw his head back and snarled, sinking his fangs ruthlessly in the exposed, vulnerable shoulder. Blood pooled in his mouth and spilled from the wound, running down his shoulder and back. Inuyasha sobbed at the intense pain; he could feel the tips of the fangs penetrating deep muscles. He was skating the edge of pleasure, his untouched cock throbbing with need but Sesshoumaru wouldn't allow him to cum. A submissive male must cum without a touch to his cock, with his seme's cock inside his ass alone.

Abruptly, Sesshoumaru pulled out of him. Inuyasha's hole twitched desperately, feeling the loss of the wonderful thing inside of it. He was spun around and slammed on his back. Sesshoumaru thrust back into the by now well used entrance, making Inuyasha's toes curl, every muscle in his body tense and straining but his alpha wouldn't allow him to cum.

Slowly, purposefully, Sesshoumaru pulled his head over one shoulder and grabbing Inuyasha by the back of his head, pushed the hanyou's mouth over the juncture of his shoulder and neck.

Inuyasha's tongue snaked out to taste the skin in front of him. The demonic half of him surged forward, taking over the half-demon body. Purple markings appeared on Inuyasha's face as he sank he bit down for all he was worth.

But the skin of a Taiyoukai could not be broken so easily and with all his efforts, demon Inuyasha only managed to penetrate the skin a little, leaving two small holes in the skin. A single drop of blood oozed from the wound and Sesshoumaru grunted with satisfaction. The deeper the mating mark, the stronger the demon's hold on his mate. It was only right that Inuyasha belonged to him now; he could control the half demon any way he wanted but he did not belong to Inuyasha. They were mates but Inuyasha was clearly the submissive.

Inuyasha felt the demon Lord's cock finally speared against his prostate and Inuyasha screamed, cumming hard over the sheets for a second time, collapsing under the climatic thrust.

On the verge of losing consciousness, he felt the warm wetness of Sesshoumaru's cum deep inside him. Inuyasha smiled hazily; he could feel the cum pooling inside him, spilling over his ass. Sesshoumaru collapsed on top of him, knocking the breath from his lungs with the weight. But he didn't pull out and Inuyasha cherished the warm weight on his back as he closed his eyes and slept more soundly than he ever had in his life.

_THE END_

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><p><strong>AN: **So, what do you think of this story's ending? I look forward to your review.


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